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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

IN  MEMORY  OF 

Richard  Arthur  Bolt,M.D. 


No.  1. 


-i~J-y*4f  ,/LJfc  JJ 


:.'       a^-^^  f9o^ 


CAT.  FOR 
PUBUG  HEALTH 


Healthy  Homes  and  Foods  for  the 
Working  Classes. 


CVmcvican  |}nblir  €)ca\t\)  Association 


LOME  PRIZE  ESSAY 


HEALTHY  HOMES  AND  FOODS  FOR  THE 
WORKING  CLASSES 


By  VICTOR    C.|VAUGHAN.   M.  D.,  Ph.  D,, 

Professor  in   Univcrsily  of  Michigan 


MK    WHO    SECURES    A    til    a  HOMF    AND    Hl'.M.THY    FOOD    FOR    HIMSELF 

AND    KAMU-     Ol.)ES    NOT    LIVE      I  .V    VAIN 


Coiuorb,  1).  |i. 

Replblican  Press  AssociAxroN,  22  North  Malv  Striet 
18S6 


PUBUC  HEALTH 


Copyright,  iS86, 
By  Irving  A.  Watson,  Sec.  American  PasLia  Health  Associatiok. 


All    Rights    Reserved. 


Public  Health 


Add'l 


GIFT 


ll 


r 


INTRODUCTION. 


V- 


As  the  result  of  prizes  offered  by  Mr.  Henry  Lomb,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y,,  through  the  American  Public  Health  Association,  the  followinfj 
awards  were  made  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  association  : 

T.  Healthy  Homes  and  Foods  for  the  Working  Classes.    Ly  Victor  C. 

Vaughan,  M.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  in  University  of  Michigan.     Prize,  .     .     $200 
II.  The  Sanitary   Conditions  and  Necessities   of   School-Houses  and 

School-Life.     By  D.  F.  Lincoln,  M.  D.,  Boston,  Mass.     Prize,     .     .     .     $200 
,111.  Disinfection  and   Individual  Prophylaxis  acainst  Infectious  Dis- 
eases.    By  George  M.  Sternberg,  M.  D.,  Major  and  Surgeon  U.  S.  Army. 

Prize ...     j^500 

IV.  The  Preventable  Causes  of  Disease,  Injury,  and  Death  in  American 
Manufactories  and  Workshops,  and  the  Best  Means  and  Appli- 
ances for  Preventing  and  Avoiding  them.  By  George  H.  Ireland, 
Springfield,  Mass.     Prize $200 

That  these  essays  may  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  every  family  in  the 

>untry  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  association,  as  well  as  the  heartfelt 
ish  of  the  public-spirited  and  philanthropic  citizen  whose  unpi'etentious 
nerosity  and  unselfish  devotion  to  the  interests  of  humanity  have  given 

:.  these  essays,  but  the  financial  inability  of  the  association  renders  it 
impossible  to  distribute  them  gratuitously; — therefore  a  price  covering 

'e  cost  has  been  placed  upon  these  publications.  It  is  to  bo  hoped, 
'Wever,  that  government  departments,  state  and  local  hoards  of  health, 
nitary  and  benevolent  associations,  etc.,  will  either  publish  these  essays. 

;  purchase  editions  al  cost  of  the  association,  tur  distribution  amouL     ''  • 

'  jople. 
Although  ..  ..j;_,  light  has  been  placed  upon  these  essays  for  legitimate 

rotection,  permission  to  publish,  under  certain  conditions,  can  be  ob- 

sined  by  addressing  the  secretary. 


831 


Healthy  Homes  and  Foods  for  the  Working  Classes. 


COMMITTEE  OF  AWARD. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Moore,  President  State  Board  of  Health,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 
Dr.  C.  W.  Chancellor,  Sec'y  State  Board  of  Health,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Medical  Director  Albert  L.  Gihon,  U.  S.  Navy,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Dr.  J.  H.  Raymond,  Health  Commissioner,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Major  Charles  Smart,  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


L 

BUILDING  A  HOME. 


LOCATION. 


The  location  of  the  home  of  the  working-man  is  often  determined  by- 
considerations  over  which  he  has  no  control.  Cost  of  land  and  distance 
from  place  of  labor  must  influence  the  selection.  If  possible,  however, 
the  house  should  not  be  located  in  a  low,  damp  place,  nor  on  made 
earth.  In  cities,  many  low  tracts,  and  even  the  beds  of  small  streams, 
marshes,  and  lakes,  are  filled  in  with  general  refuse,  such  as  street 
sweepings,  back-yard  rubbish,  ashes,  and  garbage.  Such  soil,  unless 
thoroughly  under-drained,  must  be  unfit  for  the  location  of  habitations. 
It  is  damp,  and  will  for  years  be  filled  with  the  products  of  decomposi- 
tion arising  from  the  putrefaction  of  the  garbage  deposited  there.  Houses 
built  in  such  locations  must  be  damp,  musty,  *nd  unhealthful.  The 
inmates  of  a  house  built  in  such  a  place  are  likely  to  suflerfrom  malaria, 
bilious  fever,  and  rheumatism,  even  if  they  do  not  fall  victims  to  the 
more  'dreaded  diseases,  typhoid  fever  and  consiimption.  The  house 
should  also  be  far  from  marshes  and  other  low  lands,  whose  surface  is 
covered  with  water  in  the  spring  and  early  summer,  and  then  exposed 
later.  Such  situations  are  likely  to  be  malarious.  Neither  should  the 
home  be  located  near  manufacturing  establishments  which  usually  have 
much  garbage  about  them,  such  as  breweries,  tanneries,  glucose  facto- 
ries, rendering  houses,  and  oil  refineries. 

The  site  should  be  one  which  is  naturally  well  drained  ;  and  whether 
this  be  the  case  or  not  often  cannot  be  decided  in  cities  \yithout  consult- 
ing maps  which  show  the  original  lay  of  the  land  before  any  grading 
had  been  resorted  to,  though  the  j^osition  and  course  of  neighboring 
streams  and  the  location  of  springs  may  suggest  valuable  information. 
The  slope  of  the  land  should  be  from  the  house.  Extra  precaution  must 
be  taken  when  it  becomes  necessary  to  build  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  which  is 
covered  with  houses  from  which  the  surface  water  and  under-ground 
irainage  flows  toward  tlie  home.  The  location  of  neighbors'  out-houses, 
nith  reference  to  the  proposed  home,  should  also  be  taken  into  consid- 
eration. While  an  intelligent  man  will  not  neglect  the  sanitary  condition 
of  his  own  premises,  his  neighbor's  cesspool  or  privy  vault  may  drain 
into  his  well  and  poison  his  drinking-water.  Have  the  house  upon  a 
place  high  enough,  and  as  dry  as  possible.  Avoid,  whenever  practica- 
ble, narrow  streets,  which  are  devoid  of  sufficient  sunlight  and  pure  air. 
The  width  of  the  street  should  be  twice  the  height  of  the  houses  along 


4  BUILD fNG  A  JJOMR. 

it,  and  no  street,  even  in  the  business  centres  of  cities,  should  be  narrower 
than  the  height  of  the  houses.  In  many  of  the  older  cities,  however,  the 
streets  are  narrower  than  this. 

The  best  soils  upon  wdiich  to  build  are  gravel,  marl,  and  limestone  ; 
for  in  these  the  drainage  is  likely  to  be  better  than  in  others. 

A  due  amount  of  shade  around  'a.->  home  renders  it  more  healthy,  but 
the  shade  should  not  be  dense  enough  or  close  enough  to  the  house  to 
obstruct  the  air  and  light. 

THE   CELLAR, 

Every  dwelling-house,  even  that  which  has  but  one  room  in  it,  should 
either  have  a  cellar,  or  should  be  raised  sufficiently  high  from  the  ground 
to  allow  a  free  supply  of  air  under  it.  The  walls  of  the  cellar  should  be 
perfectly  water  and  air  tight.  It  is  better,  in  making  the  excavation,  to 
remove  the  earth  a  foot,  on  all  sides,  further  than  the  line  on  which  the 
outside  of  the  wall  will  stand  ;  then,  after  the  walls  have  been  built,  pack 
the  space  with  clay  or  gravel.  In  this  way  the  walls  of  the  cellar  are 
more  likely  to  be  kept  dry.  If  built  of  brick  the  walls  should  be  hollow\ 
consisting  of  a  thin  outer  wall  two  or  three  inches  from  the  main  wall. 
The  two  are  tirmly  held  together  by  occasionally  placing  a  brick  across 
from  one  to  the  other  as  the  walls  are  being  built.  Unless  this  is  done, 
moisture  will  pass  through  a  brick  wall,  it  matters  not  how  thick  it  may  be. 

The  cellar  floor  should  be  of  concrete,  about  six  inches  thick,  and 
covered  with  Portland  cement  or  asphalt.  If  the  soil  be  Aery  damp, 
tiling  should  be  placed  under  the  cellar  floor,  and  carried  out  beneatii 
the  wall  to  a  larger  tile  which  passes  around  the  house  and  leads  ofl'intO' 
some  suitable  receptacle. 

It  is  absolutely  essential  to  a  healthy  house,  that  its  cellar  should  be 
free  from  dampness  and  ground  air.  In  order  to  secure  these  requisites, 
the  walls  and  floor  of  the  cellar  must  be  well  built,  even  if  it  becomes 
necessary,  on  account  of  increased  cost,  to  deprive  the  superstructure  of 
some  of  its  ornamentation. 

The  cellar  should  be  well  supplied  with  light  by  having  windows. 
above  ground,  or  by  sunken  areas  in  front  of  the  windows.  The  win- 
dow-sashes should  be  hung  on  hinges,  so  that  they  may  be  easily  opened 
when  the  cellar  needs  an  airing. 

If  the  cellar  is  to  be  used  for  several  purposes,  as  the  location  of  the 
heating  apparatus  and  the  storage  of  fuel  and  vegetables,  it  sliould  be 
divided  into  compartments,  the  temperature  of  which  may  be  kept  at 
diflierent  degrees'. 

Basement  bed-rooms  are  almost  universally  unhealthy,  and  should  be 
used  only  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity.  It  is  also  best  not  to  have  the 
kitchen  in  the  basement,  especially  if  the  room  directly  above  be  occu- 
pied. If  stationary  wash-tubs  be  placed  in  the  basement,  they  should 
have  a  metallic  or  porcelain  lining,  and  the  pipes  which  conduct  the 
refuse  water  from  them  should  be  thoroughly  trapped. 


BUILDLXG  A  IIOMK. 


THE  WALLS. 


If  built  of  brick  the  walls  of  the  house  should  be  hollow,  as  described 
in  referrinof  to  the  walls  of  the  cellar.  Furthermore,  the  plastering  should 
never  be  placed  directly  on  the  brick.  The  inside  of  the  wall  should  be 
"furred,"  scantling  nailed  to  the  furring,  and  the  lathing  done  as  in  a 
frame  house.  It  has  been  found  that  a  single  brick  will  absorb  as  much 
as  one  pound  of  water  ;  and  if  a  brick  wall  be  built  solid  and  the  plaster- 
ing placed  directly  on  the  brick,  the  house  will  be  constantly  damp. 
Many  of  the  older  brick  houses  are  constructed  in  tliis  manner,  and 
consequently  their  interiors  always  have  a  damp,  musty  odor,  it  matters 
not  how  untiring  the  housekeeper  mav  be  in  her  eflbrts  to  have  every- 
thing sweet  and  clean. 

Even  in  case  of  a  stone  wall,  the  plastering  should  not  be  placed 
directly  on  the  wall  ;  though  stone  does  not  absorb  water  to  any  such 
extent  as  brick  does. 

New  brick  and  stone  walls  are  necessarily  damp,  and  for  this  reason 
houses  built  of  either  should  not  be  occupied  until  some  weeks  after  the 
building  of  the  walls.  In  order  for  them  to  dry  thoroughly  they  must  be 
penious  to  air  ;  and  walls  built  as  recommended  above  will  allow  the  air 
to  pass  through  them  freely.  Plastering  does  not  prevent  the  air  from 
passing  through  the  waHs,  but  papering  does.  However,  as  papering  is 
the  most  economical  way  in  which  walls  can  be  decorated,  it  will  long 
continue  in  use.  Wall  papers  containing  arsenical  colors  have  been,  and 
are  still  to  some  extent,  used.  Rooms  decorated  Avith  such  papers  are 
not  suitable  for  living  apartments.  It  is  generallv  supposed  that  only  the 
green  colors  contain  arsenic,  but,  in  truth,  it  may  be  present  in  paper  of 
any  color.  The  only  way,  then,  by  which  they  may  be  avoided  is  by 
having  the  selected  samples  tested.  Any  intelligent  druggist  or  chemist 
will  make  the  analysis  for  a  small  fee,  which  should  be  at  the  expense  of 
the  paper-dealer. 

A  nice  way  of  finishing  inside  walls  is  to  paint  and  then  varnish  them. 
The  varnish  prevents  the  rubbing  off  of  the  paint,  and  places  the  walls  in 
in  such  a  condition  that  they  may  be  washed  Avhenever  desirable. 

THE    FLOORS. 

Floors  should  be  made  tight,  so  that  they  mav  be  thoroughly  scrubbed 
with  soap  and  water  occasionally.  The  best  floor,  from  a  sanitary  view, 
is  one  of  hard  wood,  planed  smooth,  and  oiled.  It  is  far  better  to  have 
a  clean,  bare  floor,  than  one  covered  with  a  filthy  carpet.  However, 
where  carpets  are  kept  clean,  and  are  occasionallv  taken  up  and  the  floor 
scrubbed,  there  is  no  objection  to  their  use  ;  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  a  clean  carpet  adds  much  to  the  comfort  of  a  room.  A  cheap  straw 
matting  is  now  made,  which  can  be  washed  when  necessary,  and  it  will 
not  retain  dust  and  filth  to  the  extent  that  woollen  carpets  do.  Such  a 
covering  is  especiall}-  suitable  for  chning-rooms. 


BUILD  I XG  A   IJOME. 


ARRANGEMENT    OF    ROOMb. 


The  living-rooms  should  be  on  the  sunny,  airy  side  of  the  house. 
Human  beings  as  well  sis  plants  demand  sunlight.  Too  frequently  the 
good  housewife  sliuts  out  the  sunlight  for  fear  that  it  will  fade  tlie  carpet. 
As  some  one  has  said,  '•  It  is  far  better  to  have  faded  carpets  than  to  have 
faded  cheeks."  A  little  saving  in  the  color  of  the  carpet  is  poor  econ- 
omy when  it  is  secured  at  the  cost  of  health.  Especially  should  the  room 
occupied  by  the  women  and  children,  who  are  indoors  much  of  the  time, 
be  well  supplied  with  light.  If  there  is  to  be  a  long,  dark  hall  or  pas- 
sage-way in  tlie  house,  let  it  be  on  the  side  upon  which  the  least  sunlight 
falls,  and  place  th.e  living-rooms  on  the  other  side. 

It  is,  unfortunatelv,  the  fashion  to  make  bed-rooms  small  in  order  to 
have  a  large  sitting-room.  Too  often  tlie  bed-room  is  a  mere  recess 
scantily  supplied  with  fresh  air.  It  is  better  to  have  a  smaller  sitting- 
room  and  a  larger  bed-room.  Even  farmers  often  suiTer  from  diseases 
which  are  due  to  an  insufficient  supply  of  pure  air.  This  arises  from  the 
fact  that  for  six  or  seven  hours  out  of  every  twentv-four  they  are  shut  up 
in  small,  tight,  musty  bed-rooms,  and  are  compelled  to  rebreathe  the  air 
which  they  have  already  once  breathed. 

As  has  been  said  in  discussing  the  cellar,  basement  bed-rooms  are 
always  poorly  supplied  with  fresh  air,  and  are  generally  damp  and  musty. 
They  should  be  used  only  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity.  Attic  bed-rooms 
are  cold  in  winter  and  hot  in  summer,  and  their  use  also  can  be  excused 
only  on  the  question  of  dire  necessity. 

If  the  owner  of  the  house  can  afToi'd  it,  at  least  one  bed-room  should 
contain  a  grate  or  fire-place, — for,  with  every  attention  to  the  laws  of 
health,  there  will  come  times  when  some  inember  of  the  family  will  be 
sick  ;  and  the  sick-i-oom  should  be  full  of  cheer.  The  open  fire  is  cheer- 
ful, and  serves  as  an  excellent  ventilator.  Pleasant  surroundings  often 
aid  the  doctor's  pills  and  potions  in  restoring  the  patient  to  health. 

Of  course  the  number  and  exact  arrangement  of  the  rooms  will  depend 
upon  the  purse  of  the  owner  ;  but  a  cottage  may  be  built  so  as  to  be  as 
healthy  as  a  palace, — and  indeed  the  advantage  is  often  in  favor  of  the 
former,  as  the  more  complicated  finishings  and  elaborate  furnishings  o. 
the  latter  may  serve  as  harbors  for  dust  and  filth. 

Space  may  often  be  saved  by  doing  away  with  the  conventional  long, 
dark  hall,  and  by  having  the  stairs  go  up  fi'om  a  sitting-room  or  from  a 
smaller  vestibule.  The  long  halls  are  often  cold,  dark,  and  dreary.  In 
vvinter  they  are  filled  with  cold  draughts,  and  in  summer  they  are  recep- 
tacles of  refuse  of  various  kinds,  and  at  all  times  they  are  cheerless. 
They  may  be  necessary  in  certain  houses,  but  in  small  homes  they  are 
neither  ornamental  nor  pleasant. 

It  is  the  ambition  of  most  American  housewives  to  have  a  parlor,  in 
which  the  most  valuable  household  ornaments  are  placed,  and  which 
opens  only  when  some  honored  guest  comes.  The  small  boys  of  the 
family  look  upon  it  as  forbidden  territory,  and  too  frequently  both  fresh 


BUILDING  A  HOME.  7 

air  and  sunlight  are  regarded  as  intruders,  and  are  shut  out.  The  exclu- 
sion of  the  small  boy  may  be  all  right,  but  the  air  and  sunlight  should  not 
be  treated  with  so  much  discourtesy.  Indeed,  they  should  be  considered 
the  most  honored  guests,  and  should  be  welcomed  even  to  a  place  in  the 
parlpr. 

Probably  the  most  important  room  in  the  house  istlie  kitchen.  Before 
vou  praise  the  housekeeping  of  any  woman,  visit  her  kitchen.  The  par- 
lor may  be  a  beauty,  the  bed  linen  may  be  spotless,  the  table  may  be 
covered  with  decorated  china,  but  if  the  kitchen  be  filthy,  all  is  in  vain. 
But  in  order  that  the  kitchen  may  be  kept  in  good  condition,  its  construc- 
tion must  be  proper.  The  floor  is  best  of  hard  wood  or  yellow  pine  ;  or, 
if  these  are  too  expensive,  of  selected  white  pine.  They  sliould  be  kept 
bare. 

At  least  two  windows,  one  on  each  side,  are  desirable.  A  pantry  or 
shelves  for  setting  aside  clean  cooking  utensils  and  dishes  should  be  at 
hand.  If  the  cellar  be  used  for  the  storage  of  vegetables,  an  inside  stair- 
way from  the  kitchen  or  pantry  should  lead  dow'n  into  it.  The  flour-box 
in  the  pantry  should  be  so  hung  that  it  ^vill  close  itself.  It  adds  much  to 
the  comfort  of  the  cook,  and  to  the  cleanliness  of  the  walls  and  ceiling  of 
the  room,  if  the  stove  or  range  be  covered  by  a  hood  which  conducts  the 
vapors  arising  from  the  cooking  food  into  a  flue  in  the  chimney. 

If  the  owner  can  possibly  aflbrd  it,  the  house  should  contain  a  bath- 
room. In  the  absence  of  public  w'ater-supply,  a  force-pump  below,  a 
cold-water  tank  in  the  attic,  and  a  hot-water  tank  attached  to  the  kitchen 
range  will  furnish  the  bath-tub.  The  room  should  be  heated  either  di- 
rectly or  from  another  room,  otherwise  it  would  not  be  used  much  in 
cold  weather.  The  cost  of  the  bath-room  and  its  supply  need  not  be 
great,  while  the  pleasure  and  benefit  derived  from  its  use  will  be  appre- 
ciated. 

THE    WINDOWS. 

The  importance  of  an  abundant  supply  of  sunlight  has  already  been 
insisted  upon.  If  possible,  every  room  should  have  direct  light,  and  not 
be  dependent  upon  that  which  is  diffused  through  an  adjoining  room. 
The  location  of  the  windows  should  be  such  as  to  give  the  greatest  amount 
of  direct  sunlight.  The  windows  should  extend  well  towards  the  ceiling, 
and  should  be  hung  so  as  to  lower  from  the  top  as  well  as  raise  from  the 
bottom. 

The  window  shutters  or  blinds  must  be  hung  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  are  easily  opened.  In  no  part  of  the  house  should  they  be  kept 
closed  during  the  dav. 

HEATING    AND    VENTILATION. 

It  would  be  wholly  out  of  place  to  attempt  here  any  elaborate  discus- 
sion of  the  many  methods  of  heating  and  ventilating  buildings  now  in 
use.  Only  a  few  practical  statements  will  be  made  with  reference  to 
securing  adequate  warmth  and  suflScient  fresh  air  in  dwellings. 


8  BUJLDJAiiJ  A  no  ME. 

The  most  common  metliods  of  heating  small  residence^  are  by  th 
stove,  open  fire,  and  hot-air  furnaces.  The  stove  is  the  most  econom- 
ical. The  open  fire  is  the  most  enjoyable,  and  where  it  is  sufficient,  the 
most  healthy  ;  but  in  the  Northern  states  the  open  fire  alone  seldom  fur- 
nishes enough  heat  during  the  coldest  months.  The  hot-air  furnace  may 
be  so  constructed  as  to  be  a  good  method,  but  care  must  be  used  in  select- 
ing the  furnace  and  arranging  for  ventilation. 

In  small  houses  the  heat  is  generally  supplied  by  stoves.  In  rooms 
which  are  occupied  only  during  a  few  hours  of  the  day  the  wood  stove 
is  sufficient,  and,  indeed,  has  certain  advantages.  The  room  can  be 
quickly  heated,  and  when  left,  the  fire  soon  dies  out,  thus  saving  fuel. 
But  where  the  room  is  constantly  occupied,  coal  is  a  more  suitable  fuel 
than  w^ood.  The  temperature  is  more  even,  and  the  fire  burns  more 
slowly.     The  relative  cost  of  these  fuels  varies  in  different  sections. 

The  coal  stove  should  have  no  loose  joints  through  which  gases  can 
escape.  The  mica  doors  should  be  kept  in  repair,  and  the  flue  must  not 
be  allowed  to  clog.  The  principal  gases  given  oft' from  burning  coal  are 
carbonic  acid  gas,  carbonic  oxide,  and  sulphurous  oxides.  The  carbonic 
oxide  is  poisonous  when  inhaled  in  any  quantity.  It  produces  a  sensa- 
tion in  the  head  similar  to  that  which  would  be  caused  by  a  tight  band  ; 
and  in  larger  amounts  it  renders  persons  insensible,  and  may  produce 
death.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  carbonic  oxide  is  without  odor. 
Whole  families  have  been  fatally  poisoned  with  it.  Especial  care  must 
be  taken  with  coal  stoves  which  are  used  in  bed-rooms  cr  in  rooms  wliich 
communicate  with  bed-rooms,  as  the  carbonic  oxide  may  prove  fatal  to 
persons  while  sleeping,  without  waking  them.  But  there  is  no  danger 
if  the  stove  and  flue  be  in  proper  condition.  Makers  of  wrought  iron 
stoves  and  furnaces  will  insist  that  these  gases  pass  readily  through  cast 
iron,  and  for  this  reason  their  stoves  are  superior,  and  free  from  danger  ; 
but  a  properly  constructed  and  properly  managed  cast  iron  stove  or  fur- 
nace is  free  from  danger,  and  in  many  respects  is  superior  to  those  made 
of  wrought  iron.  Especial  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  position  of 
dampers  in  coal  stoves  at  night. 

One  of  the  greatest  objections  to  the  use  of  stoves  is,  that  in  houses  in 
which  they  are  used  there  is  generally  no  attempt  at  ventilation.  How- 
ever, a  house  heated  with  stoves  may  l)e  as  well  ventilated  as  any  other. 
In  houses  as  ordinarily  built,  much  fresh  air  will  come  in  through  the 
crevices  around  the  doors,  windows,  and  baseboards.  But  if  many  oc- 
cupy the  room,  the  amount  of  fresh  air  which  finds  admittance  through 
these  channels  may  be  insufficient :  especially  is  this  likely  to  be  the  case 
if  the  room  is  partly  surrounded  by  otiier  parts  of  the  building,  and  con- 
sequently has  but  a  small  surface  directly  exposed  to  the  out-door  air. 
Besides,  the  direct  draughts  from  doors  and  windows  may  be  so  great  as 
seriouslv  to  affect  the  health  of  the  inmates,  giving  them  colds.  VV^hen 
any  of  these  troubles  exist,  one  of  several  simple  devices  may  be  resorted 
to  in  order  to  secure  the  admission  of  plenty  of  fresh  air  without  danger- 
ous draughts.     The   most  common  of  these  devices  consists  in  fitting  a 


Bi'ILDnXG  A  /roME.  9 

piece  of  board  from  four  to  eight  inches  wide  in  the  window  frame  under 
the  lower  sash.  By  this  means  a  space  is  left  between  tiie  bottom  of  the 
upper  and  the  top  of  the  lower  sash,  through  which  the  air  enters,  and 
the  current  is  thrown  upward,  striking  the  ceiling,  from  which  it  is  dif- 
fused all  over  the  room.  Dr.  Keen  recommends  tacking  a  piece  ot  cloth 
across  the  lower  eight  or  ten  inches  of  the  window  frame,  then  raising 
the  lower  sash  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  according  to  the  weather.  In 
this  way  two  air  vents  in  the  window  are  established,  one  under  the 
lower  sash,  the  cun^ent  of  which  is  turned  upward  by  the  cloth,  and  the 
other  between  the  upper  and  lower  sash,  as  when  the  board  is  used. 
Through  the  upper  vent  it  is  supposed  that  some  of  the  foul  air  will  es- 
cape, though  the  current  through  this  opening  is  not  invariablv  outward. 

What  is  known  as  Maine's  elbow-tube  ventilator  consists  of  a  board 
placed  under  a  raised  sash,  as  already  described.  This  board  carries  two 
tubes,  about  six  inches  in  diameter,  which  turn  upward,  and  the  ends  of 
which  are  supplied  with  valves  by  which  the  amount  of  in-flowing  air 
can  be  regulated. 

Another  method  provides  for  smaller  tubes  brought  through  the  wall 
and  turned  upwards  into  the  room.  Some  favor  still  another  plan,  which 
consists  in  bringing  a  tube  about  six  inches  in  diameter  through  the  wall, 
and,  possibly,  under  the  floor  to  the  stove,  where  the  tube  terminates  in 
a  sheet-iron  jacket  placed  around  the  stove,  leaving  a  space  of  one  or  two 
inches,  and  having  escapes  only  at  the  top  of  the  jacket.  The  heat  of 
the  stove  will  produce  a  strong  current  through  the  pipe,  and  the  incom- 
ing air  will  be  warmed  in  passing  through  the  jacket. 

By  any  of  the  above  mentioned  devices,  abundant  facility  may  be  fur- 
nished for  the  admission  of  fresh  air  ;  but  as  two  bodies  cannot  occupy 
the  same  space  at  the  same  time,  there  must  be  pi-ovided  some  escape  for 
the  foul  air.  This  should  always  be  attended  to  in  the  construction  of  the 
house.  For  every  room  which  is  to  be  heated  by  a  stove,  there  should  be 
two  flues,  one  for  the  smoke  and  other  gaseous  productions  of  combustion, 
the  other  for  the  removal  of  foul  air  from  the  room.  The  ventilating  flue 
must  come  to  the  floor,  just  above  which  should  be  a  register.  When 
there  is  a  fire  in  the  stove,  the  upper  part  of  the  ventilating  flue  will  be 
warmed  by  the  smoke  flue,  and  consequently  there  will  be  an  upward 
current  in  it.  In  this  way  the  withdrawal  of  the  foul  air  is  rendered  cer- 
tain. It  should  also  be  seen,  in  the  construction  of  the  chimnev,  that  the 
inside  of  this  ventilating  flue  is  not  left  so  rough  as  to  impede  the  flow  of 
air  through  it,  and  that  it  is  not  clogged  with  mortar  or  pieces  of  brick. 
A  good  draught  through  the  ventilating  flue  is  almost  of  as  much  impor- 
tance as  the  draught  of  the  smoke  flue. 

The  partition  between  the  smoke  and  ventilating  flues  should  be  of 
brick  placed  on  edge,  thus  making  it  as  thin  as  possible,  so  that  the 
upper  part  of  the  ventilating  flue  will  be  thorcnighly  heated  from  the 
smoke  flue.  By  another  method  the  smoke  flue  mav  be  made  of  iron 
pipe  placed  in  a  large  flue,  and  the  space  all  around  the  pipe  will  serve 
as  the  ventilating  flue.     I  have  stated  that  the  register  in  the  ventilating 


10 


BUILDING  A  HOME. 


Fig.  I.— F.,  floor;  S.,  store;  S.  P. 

stove  pipe;  V.  F.,  ventilating 

flue;  C,  chimney. 


flue  should  be  near  the  floor.  If  near  the  ceiling,  as  some  would  have  it, 
there  would  be  too  great  a  loss  of  heat,  as  the  fresh  air  as  soon  as  heated 
would  find  its  exit.     For  summer  ventilation,  the  foul  air  outlet  may  be 

at  or  near  the  ceiling  ;  but  such  ventilation  in 
w^inter  costs  too  much,  and,  besides,  when  it  is 
used,  great  difficulty  will  often  be  experienced 
in  heating  the  room. 

With  the  plan  recommended  above,  there  is 
no  reason  why  any  room  heated  with  a  stove 
may  not  be  so  well  ventilated  that  no  disagree- 
able odor  will  be  perceptible  to  the  most  sen- 
sitive person  upon  coming  in  froin  the  outdoor 
air  ;  provided,  always,  that  the  room  is  clean. 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  great  majority  of 
houses  which  are  heated  by  stoves  are  built 
without  the  slightest  provision  for  ventilation. 
In  such  houses,  fresh  air  may  be  introduced  according  to  the  methods  al- 
ready given  ;  but  the  escape  of  the  foul  air  is  more  difficult  to  be  provided 
for.  It  may  be  done,  however,  as  follows :  Place  a  tin  or  sheet  iron 
pipe,  of  from  six  to  ten  inches  in  diameter,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
room,  along  the  wall  behind  the  stove.  The  lower  end  of  this  pipe  ex- 
tends to  within  a  few  inches  of  the  floor,  and  remains  open,  while  the 
upper  end  passes,  by  means  of  an  elbow,  into  the  smoke  flue  below  the 
point  at  which  the  stove  pipe  enters,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
Fig  I.  The  upper  end  of  the  ventilating  flue  may,  when  the  chimney 
begins  near  the  ceiling,  terminate  in  a  jacket  around  the  stove  pipe,  the 
jacket  passing  into  the  chimney  as  here  shown  in  Fig.  2.  In  all  cases 
the  ventilating  flue  is  to  have  air-tight  joints. 

With  the  open  fire  or  grate,  the  withdrawal  of  the  foul  air  is  all  pro- 
vided for,  as  it  will  escape  up  the  chimney.     The   open  fire  is  not  so 

economical  as  the  stove  ;  but,  when 
sufficient  to  warm  the  room,  the  former 
is,  at  least  as  both  are  ordinarily  ar- 
ranged, more  healthful.  With  the 
open  fire  or  grate,  much  of  the  heat 
escapes  up  the  chimney ;  however, 
with  the  grate  this  loss  of  heat  can 
be,  to  a  considerable  extent,  lessened 
by  setting  the  fire-basket  well  forward. 
When  the  hot-air  fui-nace  is  used, 
certain  precautions  are  desirable,  both 
for  economy  and  health.  In  the  first 
place,  the  furnace  selected  is  nearly 
always  too  small  for  the  extent  of  heat- 
ing required  of  it.  When  this  is  the 
case,  the  fire  must  be  pushed  as  much  as  possible  in  order  to  keep  the 
rooms  warm  in  winter  ;  consequently  the  air  entering  the  room  is  over- 


F.g. 


BUILDING  A   HOME.  If 

heated,  and  produces  headache  and  dulness.  At  the  same  time  the  fur- 
nace is  soon  burnt  out,  and  any  money  saved  in  the  first  place  by  pur- 
chasinjjf  the  smaller  size  will  have  to  be  expended  with  an  additional 
amount  in  securing  a  new  furnace. 

The  furnace  should  be  thoroughly  encased  with  thick  brick  walls,  to 
prevent  great  loss  of  heat  by  direct  radiation  in  the  cellar.  The  owner  of 
the  house  will  be  rewarded  for  his  time  and  trouble  if  he  sees  to  it  that 
this  work  is  well  done. 

The  furnace  must  receive  the  air  which  is  to  be  heated  directly  from 
the  out-door  air,  and  not  from  the  cellar.  The  cold-air  duct  should  be 
perfectly  air-tight,  so  as  wholly  to  prevent  the  cellar  air  from  entering 
the  heating  chamber.  Wooden  air-boxes  are  not  to  be  recommended 
unless  they  be  carefully  lined  with  some  metal.  The  external  opening 
of  the  cold  air  box  should  not  be  near  any  cesspool,  drain,  or  other  pos- 
sible source  of  deleterious  gases.  It  should  also  be  protected  by  a  piece 
of  wire  net.  In  the  cold-air  duct,  preferably  near  its  external  opening, 
should  be  a  sliding  valve,  by  which  the  amount  of  air  passing  to  the  fur- 
nace can  be  regulated  ;  but  care  must  be  taken  that  this  valve  is  never 
entirely  closed.  Probably  it  would  be  better  to  have  it  made  so  that 
when  pushed  in  as  far  as  possible  it  will  obstruct  only  half  the  area  of 
the  duct. 

The  air  chamber  in  the  furnace  should  be  kept  supplied  with  water. 
The  hot-air  flue  should  be  so  arranged  that  the  horizontal  ones  are  not 
more  than  fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  in  length,  for  if  the  horizontal  flues  be 
much  longcM"  than  this,  the  draught  thi-ough  them  will  be  so  slight  that 
the  rooms  will  not  be  warmed,  while  the  rooms  supplied  with  vertical 
pipes  will  be  over-heated. 

T!ie  warm-air  register  in  the  room  should  not  be  placed  directly  in  the 
floor,  but  in  the  base-board.  If  placed  in  the  floor,  it  soon  receives  a 
large  amount  of  dust  and  other  refuse. 

With  a  hot-air  furnace  properly  selected  anil  arranged,  the  amount  of 
warm,  fresh  air  entering  the  room  is  sufficient.  But  before  the  fresh, 
warm  air  can  enter,  the  air  already  present  must  fintl  an  exit.  The  fol- 
lovying  principles  may  guide  us  in  economically  ventilating  a  room  heated 
witli  a  hot-air  furnace  : 

( 1 )  Bring  the  fresh  air  in  near  the  floor. 

(2)  Take  the  foul  air  out  near  the  floor. 

(3)  Create  a  draught  in  the  foul-air  shaft  by  means  of  heat. 

Unless  the  air  already  in  the  room  has  some  means  of  exit,  it  will  be 
found  utterly  impossible  to  heat  the  room  with  the  warm-air  furnace. 
Then  it  will  be  seen  that  both  the  heating  and  ventilation  depend  largely 
upon  the  withdrawal  of  the  foul  air.  If  the  foul  air  register  be  near  the 
ceiling,  much  of  the  warm  air  from  the  furnace  will  escape  directly  into 
the  foul-air  shaft.  If  there  be  an  open  fire  in  the  room,  the  foul  air  will 
find  a  ready  exit  through  the  chimney.  If  there  be  only  a  ventilating 
flue,  it  should  be  in  the  same  chimney  with  some  other  flue  which  is 
heated,  at  least  in  its  upper  half.      Thus  a   number  of  ventilatiaig   flues 


12  -    BUILDING  A   HOME. 

from  as  many  rooms  may  be  placed  in  the  same  chimney  with,  and 
arranged  about,  the  smoke  flue  of  the  furnace.  Often  we  find  that  one 
ventilating  flue  is  expected  to  do  service  for  a  room  on  the  first  floor,  and 
also  for  another  directly  over  it  on  the  second.  The  result  frequently  is, 
that  the  foul  air  of  the  lower  room  passes  into  the  room  above.  There 
should  be  a  separate  ventilating  flue  for  each  room. 

WATER-SUPPLY. 

it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  family  that  its  supply  of  drinking- 
water  be  of  unquestionable  purity.  That  such  dreaded  diseases  as 
cholera,  typhoid  fever,  scarlet  fever,  diphtheria,  and  dysentery  may  be 
spread  by  impure  drinking-water,  there  can  now  be  no  question. 

The  sources  of  drinking-water  may  be  divided  into  the  following 
classes  : 

(i)    Cistern  water. 

(2)  Surface  water. 

(3)  Subterranean  water. 

Cistern  water  is  that  which  is  collected  upon  the  roof  of  a  house,  and 
stored  in  a  reservoir  known  as  a  cistern,  or  in  a  tank,  which  is  usually 
placed  in  the  attic  of  the  house.  Cisterns,  or  underground  reservoirs, 
are  more  generally  used  than  tanks. 

The  condition  of  this  kind  of  water  will  be  influenced  by  the  air  thi-ough 
which  it  falls,  by  the  nature  of  the  roof,  and  by  the  kind  of  cistern,  and 
the  care  exercised  in  keeping  the  roof  aiid  cistern  clean. 

In  large  cities,  especially  where  there  is  much  manufacturing  done, 
there  is  always  a  considerable  amount  of  dust  and  other  impurities  in  the 
air,  much  of  which  is  brought  down  with  the  rains.  The  conductors 
leading  from  the  roof  to  the  cistern  should  be  supplied  with  means  for 
turning  off' the  first  part  of  the  rain-fall.  In  this  way  the  impurities  taken 
from  the  air  and  those  collected  on  the  roof  are  disposed  of.  Especially 
is  this  desirable  if  the  roof  be  of  wood  and  old,  if  there  be  a  collection  of 
leaves  and  other  debris  from  projecting  branches  of  trees,  and  if  there  be 
any  chance  of  birds  depositing  their  excrement  upon  the  roof.  Probably 
the  cleanest  roofing  material  is  slate  ;  but  its  cost  has  prevented  its  gen- 
eral use  in  the  construction  of  residences. 

The  cistern  should  be  built  of  brick,  and  plastered  water-tight  ujDon  the 
outside  as  well  as  upon  the  inside.  Strict  attention  should  be  paid  to 
this,  and  the  walls  should  be  so  built  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  water 
from  the  adjacent  soil  passing  into  the  cistern. 

The  top  of  the  cistern  should  be  well  covered,  so  as  to  prevent  small 
animals  as  well  as  vegetable  refuse  from  falling  in.  The  best  covering 
would  be  a  box  built  up  several  feet  above  the  ground,  and  covered  with 
fine  wire  netting.  In  this  way  the  fresh  air  will  pass  down,  and  the 
space  above  the  surface  of  the  water  will  be  ventilated.  When  this  can- 
not be  used,  a  tight  covering  of  stone,  or  of  wood,  if  all  boards  are  re- 
moved and  replaced  by  new  ones  at  the  first  sign  of  decay,  may  be  used. 


BUILDING  A   HOME.  1 3 

A  wooden  pump  should  not  be  plaeed  in  the  cistern,  as  it  soon  decays, 
becomes  covered  with  moss,  and  collects  upon  it  much  filth.  Aii  iron 
pipe  with  the  pump  in  the  kitchen  is  probably  the  best  arrangement. 
However,  the  cistern  should  never  be  built  under  the  house.  When  so 
built  the  air  above  the  water  is  invariably  bad,  and  the  periodical  clean- 
ing out  of  the  cistern,  which  should  be  done  once  a  year  at  least,  is  not 
so  likely  to  be  attended  to. 

It  is  customary  in  some  places  to  place  near  the  top  of  the  cistern  an 
over-flow  pipe  which  leads  into  a  cesspool  or  privv-vault.  This  pyac- 
tice  has,  without  doubt,  cost  many  lives.  There  should  not  under  any 
circumstances  be  any  connection  between  the  cistern  and  any  receptacle 
of  filth.  This  over-flow  pipe  is  often  untrapped,  or  the  trap  becomes 
defective,  and  the  gases  arising  from  the  decomposing  matter  of  the  cess- 
pool and  privy-vault  pass  into  the  cistern.  Indeed,  cases  are  known 
where  not  only  the  gas,  but  fluid  refuse,  has  thus  been  poured  into  the 
cistern. 

However  much  care  may  be  taken  with  the  cistern, — and  the  above  sug- 
gestions should  be  deemed  of  imperative  importance, — the  cistern  water 
should  be  filtered  before  used.  Many  cheap  and  effective  household 
filters  are  made,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  detail  concerning  their 
construction  ;  but  a  few  practical  hints  may  be  given  as  to  their  care.  A 
filter  which  is  kept  constantly  under  water  soon  becomes  utterly  worth- 
less. The  charcoal  box  should  be  frequently  exposed  to  air,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, to  direct  sunlight.  A  filter  removes  suspended  matter,  and,  on 
account  of  the  air  condensed  in  the  pores  of  the  charcoal,  destroys  to  a 
certain  extent  the  organic  matter  held  in  solution  in  the  water.  Ifanv 
epidemic  disease  prevail  at  the  time,  it  is  always  safest  to  boil  any  and 
all  water  used  for  drinking  purposes.  Cistern  water  may  be  boiled  and 
then  filtered.  If  one  has  no  regular  filter,  it  will  be  better  at  all  times  to 
boil  the  water,  after  which  it  may  be  allowed  to  run  through  a  piece  of 
filter  paper,  which  can  be  obtained  for  a  trifle  at  any  drug  store,  placed 
in  a  tin  or  glass  funnel.  When  filter  paper  is  used,  a  \\g\n  piece  should 
be  placed  in  the  funnel  each  day. 

The  purity  of  surfoce  water  will  depend  on  the  condition  of  the  soil 
upon  which  it  falls  and  over  which  it  flows,  as  well  as  upon  the  air 
through  which  it  falls.  Water  which  falls  upon  and  flows  over  a  filthv 
soil  should  not  be  used  for  drinking.  Since  the  amount  of  refuse  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  is  usually  greater  in  thickly  settled  countries,  the 
water  collected  on  such  sheds  is  unfit  for  use.  That  there  is  a  certain 
degree  of  purification  in  running  streams  there  can  be  no  doubt ;  but  not- 
withstanding this,  specific  poisons  have  been  carried  long  distances  in 
rivers,  and  have  still  manifested  their  poisonous  effects. 

When  any  serious  epidemic  prevails,  and  surface  vvfiter  constitutes  the 
drinking  supply,  it  should  always  be  boiled.  In  Inilia,  tlie  spread  of 
cholera  is  often  along  the  water-courses  into  which  excrement  frona  the 
sick  and  the  bodies -of  the  dead  are  often  cast.  Typhoid  fever  and  dys- 
entery are  also  often  spread  by  t!ie  use  of  surface  water. 


14  BUILDING  A  HOME. 

The  water  collected  in  shallow  wells  is  really  surface  water,  and  that 
often  of  the  worst  kind.  The  use  of  drinking-water  from  shallow  wells 
is,  as  a  rule,  to  be  condemned.  Many  people  think  if  water  percolates 
through  a  few  feet  of  soil,  every  harmful  substance  is  removed.  No 
greater  mistake  could  possibly  be  made.  Indeed,  by  percolation  through 
the  soil,  the  impurity  of  the  water  is  often  increased.  Various  kinds  of 
filth  which  have  accumulated  upon  and  within  the  soil  are  dissolved  in 
the  v^'ater  and  carried  into  the  well.  Often  we  find  in  a  small  back  yard 
a  cesspool,  privy-vault,  and  well,  all  in  close  proximity.  If  the  well  be 
a  shallow  one,  such  an  arrangement  is  probably  the  w^orst,  in  a  sanitary 
sense,  that  could  possibly  be  devised. 

Subterranean  w'aters  used  for  drinking  purposes  ai'e  those  obtained 
from  springs  and  deep  wells.  Whether  such  w^aters  are  pure  or  not  de- 
pends largely  upon  the  geological  formations  in  which  they  exist.  The 
source  of  the  water  must  be  below  I'ock  or  thick  clay  beds  in  order  for 
the  water  to  escape  surface  contaminations.  Springs  from  gravel  hills 
may  be  as  impure  as  shallow  wells.  A  very  small  amount  of  iron  in 
water  does  not  render  it  unfit  for  drinking ;  but  water  which  contains 
more  than  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent,  of  iron  is  unfit  for  constant  use. 

Deep  wells  should  have  their  walls  so  protected  as  not  to  permit  of  sur- 
face water  finding  its  way  through  them.  If  this  is  not  the  case,  their 
waters  may  become  quite  as  foul  as  those  of  shallow  wells. 

Subterranean  waters  are  often  hard.  By  this  is  meant  that  they  fail 
to  make  a  lather  with  soap,  or  a  large  amount  of  soap  must  be  used  with 
them  in  order  to  produce  a  lather.  The  hardness  of  water  is  due  to  the 
presence  of  certain  inorganic  salts,  as  those  of  lime  and  magnesia,  which 
form  insoluble  compounds  with  soap.  Hard  waters  are  divided  into- 
two  classes  : 

(i)  Those  whose  hardness  is  removed  by  boiling.  This  is  known  as 
temporary  hardness. 

(2)  Those  whose  hardness  is  not  removed  by  boiling.  This  is  known 
as  permanent  hardness. 

Manv  waters  possess  both  a  temporary  and  permanent  hardness. 
Such  waters  are  improved  b}'  boiling,  but  are  not  rendered  wholly 
soft. 

Hard  waters  are  not  suitable  for  laundry  purposes,  especially  when  the 
hardness  is  largely  permanent.  They  also  often  form  incrustations  in 
boilers.  But  unless  the  hardness  be  very  great,  it  does  not  unfit  the 
water  for  drinking  purposes.  There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  the 
possibility  of  hard  waters  producing  goitre.  It  is  well  known  that  this 
disease  is  very  prevalent  in  certain  limestone  districts  ;  but  that  the  use  of 
hard  water  for  drinking  is  the  cause  of  the  disease  has  not  been  positively 
demonstrated.  It  would  be  best,  however,  for  fomilies  in  which  a  ten- 
dency to  goitre  prevails  to  use  soft  water. 

Hard  water  has  also  been  supposed  to  favor  the  formation  of  gravel. 
The  writer  has  met  with  a  few  persons  who  are  troubled  with  gravel  only 
when  usinof  hard  water. 


BUILDIXG  A  HOME.  1 5 

Some  hard  waters  have  an  irritating  effect  upon  the  bowels  of  those 
not  accustomed  to  their  use,  producing  in  such  persons  diarrhoeas. 

In  case  of  the  use  of  a  public  water-supply,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  health 
authorities  of  the  city  to  see  that  the  water  is  wholesome,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  consumer  to  see  that  the  water  is  not  contaminated  on  his 
premises.  Lead  pipes  and  lead  lined  storage  tanks  should  not  be  used 
for  conveying  or  storing  cistern  water.  The  pipes  should  be  of  iron,  or 
better  still,  of  block  tin,  or  should  be  lined  with  tin. 

THE    DISPOSAL    OF    WASTE. 

One  of  the  most  important  questions  connected  with  modern  sanitation 
is  as  to  the  best  methods  of  disposing  of  waste  matter.  When  allowed 
to  accumulate  in  the  vicinity  of  homes,  it  may  poison  both  the  water  and 
the  air.  Many  of  the  older  cities  of  southern  Europe  have  become  thor- 
oughly saturated  with  filth,  and  for  this  reason  cholera  has  found  a  fertile 
field  for  its  growth  in  Spain,  Italy,  and  southern  France.  Filth  and  dis- 
ease always  go  hand  in  hand,  the  former  leading  the  latter.  Cleanliness 
invariably  lessens  the  death-rate.  Typhoid  fever,  cliolera,  and  other  dis- 
eases, Avhose  grovv'th  and  spread  are  plainly  due  to  the  accumulation  and 
putrefaction  of  waste  matter,  should  be  stamped  out  of  existence.  With 
perfect  cleanliness  they  would  not  be  known. 

It  is  the  writer's  object  to  give  here  some  practical  suggestions  for  the 
disposal  of  waste  matter.  Probably  the  disposal  of  human  excrement 
deserves  more  care  than  any  other  waste.  In  cities  where  there  is  an 
abundant  public  supply  of  water,  and  where  sewers  are  in  use,  the  water- 
closet  is  the  most  convenient  method,  and  it  may  be  made  perfectly  safe. 
Where  water-closets  are  used,  the  so-called  "  separate  system"  of  sewer- 
age is  desirable.  This  system  provides  tw^o  sets  of  sewer  conductors. 
One  of  these  is  the  ordinary  brick  sewer,  and  this  system  is  used  only 
for  can-ying  off  the  storm-water.  The  other  is  made  of  small  sewer 
pipes  which  convey  the  sewage  proper,  and  which  are  connected  with 
flushing  tanks,  by  means  of  which  they  are  periodically  flooded  with 
water  and  washed  clean.  The  advantage  of  this  method  is  easily  under- 
stood. When  the  single  system  is  used,  the  sewers  are  necessarily  large, 
in  order  to  carry  oft' the  great  amount  of  rain-water.  The  bottom  and 
sides  of  these  sewers  must  be  more  or  less  rough,  and  they  are  flushed 
only  at  the  time  of  heavy  rain-falls  ;  consequently  much  of  the  time  the 
How  of  sewage  through  them  is  slow,  and  the  solid  matter  is  deposited 
on  the  rough  surfaces,  where  it  decomposes  with  the  formation  of  nox- 
ious gases,  which  escape  through  ventilators  into  the  street,  or  pass 
througli  defective  traps  into  the  houses. 

With  the  separate  system  the  small  sewer  pipes  with  smooth  inner  sur- 
faces ar>e  flusheil  three  or  four  times  a  day,  and  their  contents  are  swept 
out.  It  requires  twenty-four  hours  at  least  for  human  excreta  to  decom- 
pose to  such  an  extent  as  to  evolve  poisonous  gases  ;  therefore,  if  the 
pipes  be  flushed  clean  one  or  more  times  during  the  day.  there  can  be 
but  little  dansrer  from  '-sewer  gas." 


1 6  BUILDING  A  HOME. 

However,  whichever  system  of  sewerage  is  in  use,  the  individual 
should  take  certain  precautions  in  arranging  his  water-closets.  In  the 
first  place,  water-closets  should  not  be  placed  in  living-i-ooms  or  in  bed- 
rooms. They  should  be  located  if  possible  in  some  detached  part  of  the 
house.  The  kind  of  closet  selected  should  be  determined  upon'by  some 
competent  person.  Changes  and  improvements  in  the  patterns  are  being 
constantly  made,  so  that  should  any  preference  be  given  at  this  time  it 
might  not  hold  good  three  months  hence.  The  flushing  tank  for  the 
water-closet  should  not  in  anyway  be  connected  with  the  drinking  water- 
supply.  The  closet  should  be  well  trapped,  and  the  trap  should  be  so 
placed  that  it  can  be  examined  at  any  time  without  tearing  up  the  floor 
or  breaking  into  the  wall.  The  habit  which  plumbers  have  of  hiding  all 
their  work  should  be  condemned.  The  soil  pipe  should  not  be  connected 
at  any  point  inside  of  the  house,  at  least  with  the  other  waste  pipes,  such 
as  those  from  the  bath-tub  and  stationary  wash-bowls.  The  soil  pipe 
should  be  ventilated  by  a  pipe  which  should  be  as  nearly  perpendicular 
as  possible,  and  which  should  extend  above  the  roof  of  the  house,  and 
should  not  be  placed  near  a  window.  This  ventilation  of  the  soil  pipe  is 
of  the  utmost  importance,  and  should  never  be  neglected. 

When  there  is  no  system  of  sewerage,  the  dry-earth  closet  is  the  best 
method  of  disposing  of  human  excrement.  Indeed,  upon  sanitary  grounds 
the  dry-earth  system  is  in  many  respects  more  desirable  than  the  use  of 
water-closets  ;  but  the  former  requires  possibly  more  care  than  the  latter. 
Economically,  also,  the  dry-earth  system  wall  prove  the  better  when  it 
comes  into  more  general  use,  and  the  excrement  is  used  as  a  fertilizer. 
A  dry-earth  closet  properly  kept  is  free  from  all  noxious  gases,  and  there 
is  no  possibility  of  the  drinking  water-supply  becoming  contaminated 
from  it. 

There  are  many  patterns  of  dry-earth  closets  in  use,  but  the  simplest 
may  be  made  as  efficient  as  the  most  complicated  and  costly.  A  cheap 
form  is  made  by  placing  vmder  the  seat  boxes  or  drawers  lined  with  gal- 
vanized iron.  There  is  placed  conveniently  a  quantity  of  dry  earth,  and 
for  each  evacuation  a  small  shovel  of  the  earth,  from  one  to  two  pounds, 
is  thrown  in.  When  the  drawers  are  full  they  are  removed,  emptied, 
and  replaced.  The  best  earth  to  use  is  pulverized  clay  mixed  with  about 
one  third  its  weight  of  loam.  Ordinary  garden  soil  maybe  used,  if  dried 
perfectly.  Sifted  coal  ashes  are  almost  or  quite  as  good  as  any  earth. 
Moreover,  they  are  generally  on  hand,  and  to  be  disposed  of  in  some 
way.  The  Avriter  has  used  for  his  family  a  dry-earth  closet  for  three 
years,  and  prefers  the  sifted  coal  ashes  to  any  kind  of  earth.  Gravel  is 
not  at  all  suitable. 

With  an  ordinary  family  with  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  members  it 
is  not  necessary  to  empty  the  boxes  more  than  once  in  three  or  four 
weeks.  Their  contents,  which  if  enough  soil  or  ashes  has  been  added, 
is  wholly  inodorous,  and  may  be  emptied  upon  the  garden.  Here  it  is 
spaded  in  during  the  spring,  and  as  a  fertilizer  amply  repays  for  the  time 
and  trouble  that  has  been  taken  \vith  it.     Several  large  cities  in  Europe 


BUILDING  A  HOME.  IJ 

have  adopted  the  dry-earth  system,  and  the  waste  is  removed  by  those 
who  desire  to  use  it  as  a  fertilizer. 

The  p<itcnt  earth-closets  are  so  arranged  that  the  requisite  amount  of 
earth  falls  into  the  box  in  a  manner  similar  to  that  by  which  the  water- 
closet  is  flushed  with  water. 

In  case  epidemics  of  any  kind  are  prevailing  in  the  neighborhood,  it 
would  be  well  to  throw  a  handful  of  chloride  of  lime  into  the  closet  each 
day.  And  even  when  no  epidemic  prevails,  but  the  Aveathcr  is  very  hot, 
the  same  quantity  of  sulphate  of  iron  (copperas)  mav  be  used  dailv. 
The  cost  of  this  substance  is  so  small  that  it  mav  be  used  freely  when 
needed.  Where  many  are  using  the  closet,  a  vault  may  be  dug  beneath 
the  seat,  and  made  water-tight  with  brick  and  cement.  Into  this  should 
be  thrown  each  day  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  drv  earth,  and  the  vault 
should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  at  least  once  a  month. 

The  ordinary  privy- vault  with  porous  walls  is  an  abomination.  It  has 
caused  more  deaths  in  this  country  than  war  and  famine  have  produced. 
The  liquid  poisons  from  it  filter  into  wells,  while  its  gaseous  exhalations 
float  through  the  air.  People  breathe  and  drink  their  own  excretions, 
and  typhoid  fever  and  kindred  diseases  slay  tens  of  thousands  annually. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  privy-vault  is  the  origin  of  the  majority  of  the 
cases  of  typhoid  fever.  As  the  country  becomes  more  thickly  settled, 
the  dangers  from  the  privy-vault  increase,  and  they  should  be  wholly 
abandoned. 

In  many  places  it  is  the  custom  to  move  the  privv,  and  cover  the 
contents  of  the  vault  with  a  few  shovels  of  dirt  as  soon  as  the  vault  is 
filled.  In  this  way  from  one  to  half  a  dozen  repositories  of  filth  are 
formed  in  the  avei'age  village  back  yard  in  a  few  years.  Such  a  condi- 
tion is  certainly  a  highly  unsanitary  one. 

The  waste-pipes  from  the  bath-tub  and  stationary  wash-bowls  should 
be  well  trapped,  with  the  traps  where  they  can  be  readily  examined  ; 
and,  as  has  been  stated,  these  waste-pipes  should  have  no  connection, 
inside  of  the  house  at  least,  with  the  pipe  from  the  water-closet.  In  the 
absence  of  sewage,  the  waste-pipes  from  the  bath  and  bowls  may  be 
conducted  into  a  cesspool.  If  the  soil  be  gravelly,  this  cesspool  should 
be  lower  than  the  bottom  of  the  cistern,  if  the  cistern  be  near.  Its  walls 
may  be  of  stone  or  brick  loosely  laid,  and  a  ventilating  pipe  should  pass 
from  the  top  of  the  cesspool,  and  extend  at  least  ten  feet  above  the  sur- 
face. No  kitchen  or  laundry  waste  should  be  allowed  to  pass  into  this 
cesspool.  Since  the  water  passing  into  this  cesspool  comes  onlv  from 
the  bath  and  wash-bowls,  it  does  not  contain  a  great  deal  of  organic  mat- 
ter, and  will  pass  into  the  soil.  The  cesspool  for  the  kitchen  slops  should 
be  walled  up  and  made  water-tight.  This  cesspool  should  also  be  ven- 
tilated by  means  of  a  large  vertical  pipe.  The  top  of  this  cesspool 
should  have  a  man-hole  in  its  centre,  covered  with  a  stone  or  iron  slab, 
which  can  be  removed  in  order  to  clean  out  the  cesspool. 

It  is  better  for  all  pipes  leading  to  sewers  or  cesspools  to  be  discon- 
nected, or  furnished  with  guUcy  traps  or  with  an  air  pipe  just  outside  of 


IS  BUILDING  A  HOME. 

the  house,  in  order  to  prevent  the  jDossibility  of  gas  passhig  from  the 
sewer  or  cesspool  into  the  house.  All  cesspools  should  be  as  far  from 
the  house  as  possible,  and  they  should  be  cleaned  at  regular  intervals. 
The  contents  of  the  kitchen  cesspool  may  be  used  for  fertilizing. 

All  solid  kitchen  waste  should  be  removed  daily  by  a  scavenger,  who 
does  this  w'ithout  expense  to  the  householder,  or  it  may  be  dried  under  the 
kitchen  stove  in  shallow  pans  and  then  burned  in  the  kitchen  fire,  or,  if 
in  the  country,  it  may  be  fed  to  hogs  or  other  animals. 

The  dust  swept  from  the  floor  should  be  burned,  not  thrown  out  into 
the  yard.  Ashes  should  be  kept  in  a  dry  place,  and  if  so  kept  they  may 
often  be  disposed  of  without  cost.  The  soap-maker  will  pay  for  dry 
wood  ashes,  and  coal  ashes  are  often  sought  for  and  used  for  filling  in 
low  places.  Each  fire-place  and  grate  should  be  furnished  with  an  ash- 
pit in  which  the  winter's  product  may  fall,  and  by  which  accident  from 
fire  is  greatly  lessened. 

When  a  house  is  built,  a  plan  of  all  its  drainage  pipes  should  be  made 
and  preserved,  as  with  it  a  faulty  pipe  or  joint  may  often  be  found  with 
ease,  when  without  it  much  work  may  be  necessary  in  order  to  find  where 
the  trouljlc  is. 

THE    SURROUNDINGS. 

It  would  be  better  if  residences  were  not  built  up  in  solid  blocks. 
Even  narrow  passage-ways  between  the  houses,  through  which  the  air 
can  move  freely,  are  to  be  preferred  to  unbroken  blocks.  However,  the 
price  of  land  and  of  building  material  may  compel  some  in  the  larger 
cities  to  deny  themselves  any  further  separation  from  their  neighbor  than 
that  afforded  by  a  single  brick  wall.  But  under  no  consideration  should 
residences  be  built  back  to  back,  without  any  open  space  between  the 
kitchens  of  the  two  houses.  Even  a  few  feet  of  open  )'ard  are  of  great 
benefit  in  affording  ventilation,  and  in  preventing  excessive  dampness. 
The  yard  should  be  kept  scrupulously  clean,  and  it  should  be  rendered 
as  beautiful  as  circumstances  will  permit.  In  summer  there  is  no  place 
for  children  in  their  play  preferable  to  a  nice  spot  out  of  doors. 

The  arrangement  of  cesspools,  wells,  cisterns,  and  out-houses  has 
already  been  discussed.  None  of  these  should  be  allowed  to  contam- 
inate the  soil  or  air  of  the  yard.  Trees  not  too  dense  or  too  near  the 
house  are  beneficial  in  shutting  off  dust,  and  tempering  the  heat  of  the 
summer's  sun.  Besides,  no  other  ornament  about  the  premises  can  be 
more  attractive  than  beautiful  trees. 

The  location  of  all  the  out-houses  of  the  immediate  neighbors,  as  well 
as  those  directly  on  the  premises,  should  be  taken  into  consideration. 
The  yard  should  be  so  graded  that  the  surface  water  will  not  collect  about 
the  foundations  of  the  house. 

A  little  care  and  a  trifling  expense  in  the  surroundings  will  amply 
repay  any  family,  and  will  increase  one's  love  for  what  should  be  the 
dearest  spot  on  earth — home. 


BUILDING  A  HOME.  ig 

THE    CARE    OF    THE    HOME. 

Suppose  that  a  location  has  been  selected,  a  house  built,  and  the  sur- 
roundings prepared  according  to  the  foregoing  directions,  the  next  thing 
is  to  see  that  all  is  kept  in  a  sanitary  condition.  Some  families  would 
convert  the  most  scientifically  constructed  house  into  a  den  of  filth. 
Cleanliness  should  be  the  watchword  of  every  family.  So  far  as  san- 
itary needs  are  concei-ned,  all  the  directions  under  this  head  might  be 
condensed  into  the  few  words,  ''Keep  everything  clean." 

Decaying  vegetables  must  not  be  left  in  the  cellar.  Fresh  air  is  to  be 
admitted  daily  into  every  part  of  the  house,  from  cellar  to  garret.  Bed- 
rooms esi^ecially  are  to  be  thoroughly  aired.  Refuse  bits  of  food  are  not 
to  be  left  to  mold  on  the  pantry  shelf,  nor  should  they  be  thrown  out  into 
the  back  yard.  Better  burn  them.  Offal  from  the  preparation  of  food  is 
not  to  be  allowed  to  I'emain  in  the  house,  nor  is  it  to  be  thrown  out.  It 
must  be  placed  in  the  swill  barrel,  or  burned.  Dirtv  dishes  are  not  to  go 
unwashed,  nor  filthy  floors  unscrubbed,  nor  soiled  linen  unlaundered. 

Fresh  meat,  milk,  and  other  foods  are  not  to  be  allowed  to  remain 
uncovered  in  living-rooms  or  bed-rooms.  The  flour-box  is  to  be  kept 
free,  not  only  from  the  ravages  of  rats  and  mice,  but  from  the  dust  of  the 
room. 

The  drain  from  the  ice-box  should  not  be  allowed  to  pass  into  a  cess- 
pool, sewer,  or  soil-pipe.  Indeed,  there  should  be  no  kind  of  connection 
between  the  ice-box,  or  other  place  in  which  food  is  kept,  and  any  recep- 
tacle of  waste  matter. 

The  floors  and  seats  of  water-closets  and  earth-closets  are  to  be  kep' 
clean.  Drains  and  cessjDools  must  be  attended  to.  The  supply  of  drink- 
ing-w'ater  must  be  kept  free  from  every  contamination. 

Continued  health  is  the  re\vard  for  the  care  bestowed  upon  these 
details.     The  labor  brings  a  rich  return. 

BUYING    OR    RENTING  A    HOUSE. 

Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  renting  or  buying  a  house  for  family 
occupation.  Many  houses  are  now  built  purposely  to  rent  or  sell,  and 
too  many  of  these  are  constructed  in  a  very  flimsv  manner.  The  object 
of  the  builder  is  to  attract  attention  to  his  house,  and  money  is  spent  in 
ornamentation,  which  should  have  been  used  in  the  more  important  parts 
of  the  structure.  No  one  shoidd  place  his  familv  in  a  house  until  he  has 
made  a  thorough  investigation  of  its  sanitary  condition.  The  mere  adver- 
tisement that  '"the  house  is  furnished  with  the  most  approved  sanitarv 
appliances"  should  not  be  considered  as  a  suilicient  guarantv.  Indeed, 
the  statement  of  the  owner  or  agent,  that  "everything  is  all  right."  is 
usually  not  to  be  relied  on.  The  time  will  come  when  no  one  will  be 
permitted  to  rent  a  death-trap  in  the  shape  of  a  house  ;  but.  unfortunately 
at  present,  the  duty  of  seeing  that  everything  is  really  all  right  devolves 


20  BUILDING  A  HOME. 

upon  the  person  seeking^  a  house.  For  this  reason  a  few  practical  direc- 
tions for  house  inspection  may  not  be  out  of  phice  here.  The  writer  has 
known  a  man,  even  after  having  been  warned  by  a  former  tenant,  who 
placed  his  family  in  a  house  whose  sole  recommendation  was  its  attrac- 
tive appearance,  and  to  regret  his  rashness  a  few  weeks  later  when 
typhoid  fe^'er  had  stricken  his  famil)^  The  danfj^ers  to  health  and  life 
are  too  great  to  allow  any  one  to  be  careless  or  inditTerent  in  this  matter. 

The  house  ofl'ered  for  rent  or  sale  should  be  visited  by  the  one  seeking 
a  home,  and  thoroughly  inspected  in  regard  to  its  sanitary  condition,  as 
well  as  to  its  general  appearance.  The  surroundings  should  be  studied. 
The  condition  of  the  back  3'ard, — especially  the  location  of  out-houses 
on  the  premises  and  those  of  the  neighbors, — the  location  and  condition 
of  cesspools,  priv3-vaults,  cisterns,  or  wells,  if  such  be  present,  should 
undergo  careful  inspection.  What  the  sanitary  arrangements  should  be 
has  been  already  sufficiently  indicated. 

The  cellar  should  be  visited,  and  if  its  walls  be  cracked,  damp,  and 
covered  with  mold,  if  water  stands  upon  its  floor,  and  if  light  and  ven- 
tilation are  not  provided  for,  seek  some  other  habitation.  It  is  better  far 
to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  with  no  roof  but  the  sky  and  no  bed  but  a  few 
blankets  placed  on  the  dry  earth,  than  to  live  in  a  house  built  over  a 
reeking  cesspool  ;  and  such  a  cellar  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
cesspool. 

The  general  construction  of  the  house  should  be  closely  scrutinized. 
Observe  the  height  of  the  first  floor  above  the  level  of  the  street,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  lot  covered  by  the  house,  the  arrangement  and  size  of  the 
rooms,  and  the  condition  of  the  floors,  ceilings,  and  walls.  Of  course 
newly  constructed  walls  are  always  damp.  A  great  amount  of  water  is 
used  in  the  mortar  and  plastering,  and  much  of  this  must  evapoi'ate 
before  the  building  is  fit  for  occupation.  Neither  should  a  house  freshly 
painted  with  lead  paints  be  occupied  until  the  paint  is  well  dried.  The 
living-rooms  should  be  placed  upon  the  sunny,  airy  side  of  the  house. 
The  bed-rooms  especially  should  be  examined  with  reference  to  their 
size  and  means  of  ventilation.  The  floors  should  be  of  seasoned  wood, 
well  jointed.  This  is  very  desirable,  as  it  prevents  the  accumulation  of 
dirt  under  the  floors,  and  permits  of  the  free  use  of  water  in  scrubbing 
the  upper  floors  without  danger  of  injury  to  the  ceilings  of  the  lower 
rooms. 

"  Skin"  hquses,  put  up  by  "jerry"  builders  simply  to  rent  or  sell  at  the 
highest  price,  can  usually  be  recognized  by  careful  inspection.  Extra 
ornamentation  will  generally  be  observed,  but,  if  a  few  months  have 
elapsed  since  its  construction,  doors  will  be  noticed  not  to  close  tightly, 
the  wood-work  is  shrunken,  the  window-sashes  do  not  move  easily,  ami 
too  frequcntl-y  the  foundations  have  settled  and  the  walls  cracked. 

If  the  house  be  furnished  with  any  plumbing,  this  should  undergo 
thorough  inspection.  A  map  showing  the  distribution  of  the  pipes, 
unless  all  are  in  plain  view,  should  be  furnished  by  the  owner.  In  many 
old  houses  lar<re  brick  drains  are  found  in  the  cellar.     These  are  alwavs 


BUILDhWG  A  HOME.  21 

bad.  In  them  a  great  quantity  of  filth  accumulates.  They  are  seldom 
sufficiently  Hushed.  Such  a  condition  should  lead  one  to  reject  a  house 
for  residence.  If  the  drain  in  the  cellar  be  of  earthen  pipe,  its  joints 
should  be  examined,  for  they  are  often  imperfect,  and  allow  of  the  escape 
of  both  gaseous  and  liquid  contents.  In  this  way  the  cellar  floor  becomes 
impregnated  with  filth,  and  from  it  noxious  exhalations  rise  into  the 
rooms  above.  The  writer  has  known  of  more  than  one  instance  in 
which  one  of  these  drains  has  been  broken  by  settling,  and  the  conse- 
quence was  that  a  regular  cesspool  was  formed  instead  of  the  drain.  In 
one  instance  the  break  occurred  near  a  cistern,  and  much  of  the  chamber 
and  kitchen  slops  soaked  through  the  imperfect  cistern,  polluting  the 
water  ;  and  this  was  the  probable  cause  of  the  typhoid  fever  which 
attacked  four  of  the  inmates  of  the  house.  Still  worse  is  the  box  drain 
made  of  plank.  Often  at  the  junction  of  the  vertical  pipe  with  such  a 
drain,  the  wood  decays,  and  a  filthy  cesspool  is  formed. 

Unfortunatel}'^  in  most  cities  the  sewers  pass  along  the  street  in  front 
of  the  house,  and  the  sewage  is  collected  in  the  back  part  of  the  cellar, 
and  carried  by  a  drain  under  the  floor  for  the  entire  length  of  the  cellar, 
passing  out  under  the  front  wall  on  its  way  to  the  sewer.  The  best  place 
for  the  sewer  is  in  the  rear  of  the  Irouse,  but  when  in  front,  the  drain 
should  be  carried  around  the  house  ;  or,  if  through  the  cellar,  it  should 
consist  of  an  iron  pipe  freely  exposed  along  its  entire  length,  and  with 
sufficient  fall  to  give  a  rapid  current.  Its  grade  should  be  uniform,  and 
free  from  depressions  in  which  accumulations  might  occur. 

The  proper  arrangement  of  the  soil  pipe  has  already  been  referred  to. 
It  should  be  of  iron,  not  of  lead.  Leaden  soil-pipes  are  often  coiToded 
and  leaky.  The  ventilation  of  the  soil-pipe  should  be  by  means  of  a 
pipe  extending  above  the  roof.  The  water  conductor  from  the  roof 
should  not  be  made  to  do  service  as  a  ventilating  pipe.  Moreover, 
when  the  rain-water  conductor  empties  into  the  soil-pipe  the  force  of  the 
current  through  it  will  siphon  the  traps  above  unless  they  are  all  ven- 
tilated. 

The  location  of  all  traps  should  be  ascertained,  and  it  should  be  seen 
that  none  of  the  pipes  are  either  clogged  or  leakv.  The  desirability  of 
the  separation  of  the  water-closet  from  the  bath  and  wash-bowls  has 
already  been  referred  to.  It  is  not  desirable  to  have  even  stationary 
wash-bowls  in  bed-rooms. 

If  there  be  a  water-supply,  it  is  well  to  see,  before  renting  or  buying 
the  house,  that  all  the  pipes  are  in  good  order  and  so  protected  that  they 
will  not  freeze.  If  the  drinking-water  be  stored  in  a  tank,  see  that  the 
tank  IS  not  lined  with  lead.  All  water  pipes  should  be  well  supported, 
or  they  may  sag  and  break. 

The  inspection  of  the  method  of  heating  antl  ventilating  the  building 
may  .be  made  from  the  rules  in  regard  to  these  points  already  given. 
The  same  is  true  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  garbage  and  the  construc- 
tion of  earth-closets. 


22  BUILDING  A  HOME 


TENEMENT-HOUSES. 


Every  working-man  should  strive  to  secure  a  home,  and  the  tenement- 
house  can  never  be  a  home  in  any  proper  sense.  The  privacy  and  com- 
fort of  a  home  can  never  be  secured  in  a  tenement-house.  Here  people 
of  all  kinds  are  congregated,  and  the  noise  of  the  boisterous  will  disturb 
the  rest  of  the  quiet ;  the  filth  of  the  slovenly  is  likely  to  injure  the  health 
of  those  who  endeavor  to  keep  everything  about  them  clean  ;  and  the 
habits  of  the  immoral  are  distasteful  to  the  moral.  However,  on  account 
of  poverty,  many  good  people  are  compelled,  for  a  time  at  least,  to 
occupy  rooms  in  a  tenement-house.  Unfortunjrtely,  the  majority  of  such 
houses  are  built  for  the  purpose  of  making  as  large  pecuniary  return  to 
the  owner  as  possible,  and  he  cares  but  little  about  the  character  of  his 
tenants  or  the  manner  in  which  they  live,  so  long  as  their  rent  is  paid. 
In  the  large  tenement-houses  of  New  York,  all  kinds  of  occupations  are 
carried  on,  and  many  of  them  in  the  inost  slovenly  manner. 

The  tenement  should  have  a  cellar  under  every  part  of  it.  The  cellar 
should  be  divided  into  compartments  by  brick  walls.  No  part  of  it 
should  be  used  for  sleeping-rooms,  and  it  should  be  perfectly  dry  and 
well  ventilated.  The  walls  and  flobrs  throughout  tlie  building  should  be 
deadened.  The  halls  should  be  lighted  at  both  ends.  They  should  be 
wide,  and  the  space  should  not  be  encroached  upon  by  using  them  as 
storage  rooms. 

Each  water-closet  should  be  thoi'oughly  trapped  and  ventilated  by  a 
pipe  extending  above  the  roof.  The  ends  of  these  pipes  should  not  have 
return  bends,  nor  be  furnished  with  caps  which  are  likely  to  obstruct  the 
upward  current. 

The  water-pipes  from  baths,  stationary  wash-bowls,  laundry  tubs,  and 
sinks  should  have  no  connection  with  the  water-closets,  and  should  dis- 
charge into  the  open  air  outside  the  building  over  gullies,  or  should  pass 
through  air-traps  outside  of  the  house,  the  air-trap  having  a  large  ven- 
tilating i^ipe  carried  above  the  roof.  In  this  way  there  will  be  no  con- 
nection between  the  drain  or  sewer  and  the  inside  of  the  house,  except 
through  the  ventilated  soil-pipe  of  a  trapped  water-closet. 

The  floor  and  seat  of  every  water-closet  should  be  scalded  with  hot 
water  and  soap  at  least  twice  a  week.  There  should  be  a  separate  closet 
for  every  fifteen  persons. 

The  laundry  work  should  be  done  in  some  special  place,  and  not  in  the 
living-  or  sleeping-rooms.  The  water-supply  should  be  abundant ;  and 
where  tlie  water-closets  are  used,  not  less  than  thirty  gallons  per  day  for 
each  inmate  of  the  house.  Kitchens  and  bed-rooms  should  be  separate. 
The  minimum  amount  of  cubic  space  allowed  should  be  five  hundred 
cubic  feet  per  head,  and  this  amount  will  answer  only  when  ample  pro- 
vision for  ventilation  exists. 

Each  room  should  be  lighted  by  outside  windows  or  by  light-shafts. 
The  window  sash  should  lower  from  the  top  as  well  as  raise  from  the 
bottom.     Each  room  must  be  furnished  with  a  separate  flue  for  ventila- 


BUILDING  A  HOME.  2^ 

tion,  or  a  foul-air  sliaft,  which  should  be  heated.  These  shafts  may  be 
lieated  by  being  placed  in  the  same  chimney  with  smoke  flues,  or  in  case 
the  entire  building  is  heated  by  steam,  a  number  of  foul-air  shafts  mav  be 
brought  together  in  the  attic,  and  heated  by  a  steam  coil.  If  this  is  done 
there  should  be  no  means  of  cutting  off  the  steam  from  this  coil.  The 
method  of  removing  foul  air,  by  means  of  a  large  central  shaft,  may  do 
when  there  are  conductors  leading  from  each  room  to  such  a  shaft,  but 
when  it  depends  upon  the  foul  air  from  distant  rooms  reaching  the  shaft 
by  means  of  open  doors  or  through  transoms,  it  will  often  fail.  ]More- 
over,  all  attempts  to  ventilate  a  number  of  rooms  on  different  floors 
through  the  same  flue  or  shaft,  it  matters  not  how  large  it  may  be,  will 
always  prove  more  or  less  of  a  failui'e  ;  because,  on  account  of  difference 
in  temperature,  the  foul  air  from  one  room  will  often  pass  into  another. 


II. 

HEALTHY  FOODS. 

FOODS    AND    FOOD-STUFFS. 

Since  particles  of  our  bodies  are  constantly  being  worn  away  and  cast 
out,  new  materia]  must  be  introduced  in  order  to  make  good  the  loss. 
Again :  it  is  necessary  that  our  bodies  should  be  supplied  with  force  or 
energy,  that  animal  heat,  muscular  movement,  and  nervous  activity  may 
be  maintained.     For  these  reasons  foods  are  taken. 

Foods  may  be  defined  as  substances  which  when  taken  into  the  body 
aid  in  building  up  or  repairing  tissue,  or,  by  being  oxidized  or  burned, 
generate  force  or  energy. 

Our  ordinary  foods  consist  of  certam  food-stuffs  or  elementar}' princi- 
ples, together  with  a  greater  or  less  amount  of  wholly  indigestible  sub- 
stances. Thus,  oatmeal  is  a  food  containing  the  food-stuffs,  gluten, 
starch,  and  fat,  with  a  certain  amount  of  cellulose  (cell  structure)  which 
is  of  no  service  to  the  body.  The  nutritive  value  of  a  food  depends  upon 
the  kind  and  amount  of  these  food-stuffs  that  it  contains.  Since  no  satis- 
factory discussion  of  foods  can  be  carried  on  until  we  become  acquainted 
with  those  constituents  upon  which  their  values  depend,  we  will  briefly 
consider  the  food-stuffs.  Fortunately  they  are  not  numerous,  and  may 
be  divided  into  the  following  classes  : 

(i)   Albumens  or  proteids. 

(3)   Fats  or  oils 

(3)  Starches  or  carbohydrates. 

(4)  Inorganic  salts. 

(5)  Water. 

Albumens  or  Proteids.  To  this  group  belong  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant food-stuffs.  They  all  contain  nitrogen,  and  for  this  reason  the  term 
"  nitrogenous  constituents"  is  used  sometimes  instead  of  proteids  or  albu- 
mens. The  chief  proteids  are  ordinary  albumen,  as  the  white  of  c^'g^ 
casein  of  milk,  fibrine  of  meat,  gluten  of  grains  and  flour,  and  legumine 
of  pease  and  beans.  The  amount  of  proteid  m  the  different  foods  is  varia- 
ble ; — thus,  meat  contains  from  15  to  23  per  cent.  ;  milk  from  3  to  4 ; 
pease  and  beans  from  23  to  27  ;  grains  and  flours  from  8  to  1 1  ;  bread 
from  6  to  9  ;  and  potatoes  and  greens  from  i  to  4. 

When  we  remember  that  the  blood,  muscles,  and  all  the  vital  organs 
contain  proteids  as  their  chief  constituents,  we  can  understand  the  impor- 
tance of  taking  food  rich  in  one  or  more  members  of  this  group.  The 
average  ^vorking-man  requires  in  his  daily  food  the  equivalent  of  four  or 
five  ounces  of  pure  proteid. 


IIEALTIiy  FOODS.  2$ 

The  digestive  and  assimulative  organs  have  the  power  of  converting 
one  proteid  into  another,  but  the}'  are  not  able  to  form  a  proteid  out  of  a 
fat  or  a  starch.  For  this  reason  no  other  food-stufi's  can,  without  injury, 
be  a  substitute  for  the  proteids  in  our  food  for  any  length  of  time. 

J^ats.  Fats  when  oxidized  or  burned  in  the  body  produce  more  force 
than  will  arise  from  the  combustion  of  an  equal  weight  of  any  other  food- 
stuff. In  cold  countries  the  inhabitants  instinctively  consume  large 
amounts  of  fat  on  account  of  the  heat  which  is  generated  from  it.  The 
working-man  requires  not  less  than  two  ounces  of  fat  per  day.  Fats  are 
best  digested  when  taken  in  a  finely  divided  state. 

Starches  or  Carbohydrates.  To  this  group  belong  a  number  of  sub- 
stances of  similar  chemical  composition,  and  the  majority  belong  to  veg- 
etable foods.     The  most  important  are  starch,  sugar,  gum,  and  dextrine. 

Like  the  fats,  they  are  consumed  in  giving  energy  to  the  body,  though 
a  much  larger  amount  of  the  cai'bohydrates  is  required  to  yield  the  same 
result  to  the  body.  The  daily  need  of  this  food-stuff  by  the  average 
working  man  is  between  seventeen  and  eighteen  ounces. 

The  cellulose  or  cell  structure  of  plants  is  closely  allied  to  the  members 
of  this  group,  and  any  cellulose  that  is  absorbed  must  first  be  converted 
into  sugar. 

Mineral  Salts.  The  bones  of  the  adult  man  contain  as  much  as  70 
percent,  of  mineral  matter,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  the  phosphate 
of  lime.  Smaller  quantities  of  the  phosphate  of  magnesium  and  the  car- 
bonate of  lime  also  exist  in  bones.  The  inuscles,  blood,  and  tissues  also 
contain  salts  of  potash  and  soda,  and  some  iron.  One  of  the  most  im- 
portant mineral  foods  is  common  salt  or  the  chloride  of  sodium. 

Water,  About  70  per  cent,  of  the  adult  body  is  water.  It  forms  the 
greater  part  of  the  vital  fluid,  in  which  it  serves  as  the  carrier  of  other 
substances,  some  in  solution,  others  held  in  suspension.  Besides  the 
fluids,  the  solid«tissues  contain  a  greater  or  less  proportion  of  water :  the 
muscles  contain  as  much  as  75  per  cent.  There  is  also  great  loss  of 
water  by  evaporation  from  the  skin,  by  exhalation  from  the  lungs,  and 
by  excretion  from  the  kidneys  and  bowels.  This  loss  must  be  made 
good  by  the  drinking  of  water,  and  by  taking  foods  more  or  less  rich  in 
this  constituent.  Meat  contains  about  75  per  cent.  ;  milk  on  an  average, 
S7  ;  bread,  35  ;  and  vegetables  and  fruits,  from  70  to  90. 

THE    NUTRITIVE    VALUE    OF    FOODS. 

The  nutritive  value  of  a  food  will  depend  upon  the  proportion  and 
kind  of  food-stufls  which  it  contains.  However,  there  are  many  condi- 
tions which  influence  the  nutritive  value  of  a  food.  In  order  for  this  to 
be  high,  its  constituents  must  not  only  be  rich  in  food-stufls,  but  they 
must  be  digestible.  By  improving  the  digestion,  the  appearance,  odor, 
and  taste  of  a  food  increase  its  nutritive  value.  A  certain  method  of  cook- 
ing makes  a  food  more  acceptable  to  one,  while  another  is  pleased  with 
a  wholly  diflerent  manner  of  preparation.    .The  taste  and   odor,  when 


26  HEAL  THY  FOODS. 

pleasing,  stimulate  the  flow  of  the  digestive  juices  ;  and  not  only  will 
more  of  the  food  be  taken  as  a  result,  but  a  greater  proportion  of  that 
which  is  taken  will  be  digested  and  assimilated. 

It  is  also  quite  essential  that  the  volume  of  food  taken  should  be  large 
enough  to  satisfy  the  appetite,  and  still  not  so  great  as  to  prove  burden- 
some. For  this  reason  foods  poor  in  certain  food-stufis  are  usually  taken 
with  some  other  food  rich  in  these  constituents.  Thus,  the  potato,  which 
contains  not  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  proteids,  is  usually  eaten  with 
meat,  which  contains  from  14  to  3i  per  cent,  of  proteids  ;  or  we  may 
say  with  equal  propriety,  that  because  meat  contains  no  starch,  man  has 
learned  to  take  with  it  the  potato,  whose  chief  constituent  is  starch.  If 
one  should  attempt  to  live  upon  potatoes  only,  the  weight  of  the  food  that 
he  would  have  to  take  each  day  in  order  to  get  the  minimum  quantity  of 
proteids  upon  which  life  could  be  sustained  would  not  be  less  than  ten 
pounds.  Dr.  Edward  Smith  actually  found  some  of  the  poorest  Irish 
laborers  confined  almost  exclusively  to  potatoes,  and  consuming  the 
amount  given  above.  This  would  lead  to  distention  of  the  digestive 
organs,  and  render  one  dull  and  stupid.  The  digestive  organs  of  plant- 
eating  animals  form  from  15  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  entire  body  weight. 
In  flesh-eating  animals  the  digestive  organs  form  only  from  5  to  6  per 
cent,  of  the  bodv  weight ;  in  man  the  proportion  is  from  7  to  8  per  cent. 
Thus,  man,  upon  this  point  at  least,  holds  an  intermediate  position  be- 
tween flesh-eating  and  plant-eating  animals,  being  more  closely  allied  to 
the  former  than  to  the  latter.  However,  as  the  proper  cooking  of  the 
food  aids  digestion,  man  may  digest  some  of  the  vegetable  food  even 
more  quickly  and  completely  than  the  ox  can.  But  his  food  should  not 
consist  ^vholly  of  vegetable  products.  A  certain  amount  of  animal  food, 
while  not  absolutely  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  life,  is  essential  to 
man's  highest  development. 

The  nutritive  A-alues  of  the  different  foods,  as  shown  by  the  per  cent. 
of  the  various  food-stufts  which  they  contain,  will  be  given  under  the 
special  description  of  each  food. 

THE  ECONOMIC  VALUE  OF  FOODS. 

That  food  is  most  economical  which  contains  the  greatest  amount  of 
the  most  valuable  food-stuBs  for  the  least  money. 

The  average  working-man  requires  daily  in  his  food,  in  round  num- 
bers, not  less  than  four  ounces  of  proteids,  two  ounces  of  fat,  and  eighteen 
ounces  of  carbohydrates.  What  combination  of  foods  will  furnish  these 
for  the  least  money?  This  is  an  important  question  ;  but  in  answering 
it,  it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  foods  suggested  are  to  be 
healthy  ones.  A  combination  which  would  cost  but  little,  but  which 
would  lead  to  dvspepsia  or  other  ills,  might  in  the  end  be  quite  costly. 

The  following  formulas  show  some  combinations,  and  give  the  approx- 
imate cost.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  required  amount,  or  more,  of  each 
food-sturt'  is  present : 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  2/ 

Class  I. —  Very  cheap  daily  rations  -ujithout  meat. 
No.  I. 

Proteids.        Fats.     Carbo-hydrates.  Cost. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz.  Cts. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82  0.13  14.35  5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  oz.  oatmeal 0.29  0.12  1.30  ij  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

I  pt.  of  milk 0.54  0.57  0.76  3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

1  oz.  sugar 0.94  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

24  oz.  potatoes 0.48  4.96         li  at  60  els.  per  bush> 

4  oz.  beans 0.92         0.08         2.14         i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  lard 1.98  li  at  jo  cts.  per  lb. 

4.05         2.88       24.45         12I 

No.  2. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82 

2  oz.  fat  cheese 0.50 

I  pt.  milk 0.54 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32 

4  oz.  beans 0.92 

I  oz.  lard 

I  oz.  sugar 

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea 

4.10         2.35        21.54         i3§ 


0.13 

14-35 

5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

0.58 

0.04 

li  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

0.57 

0.76 

3  at  6  CIS.  per  qt. 

3-31 

I  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

0.08 

2.14 

I  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

0.99 

1  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

0.94 

h  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  TS  cts.  per  lb. 

No.  3. 

16  oz.  bread 1.12  0.08  8. S3  3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

4  OZ.  oatmeal 0.58  0.24  2.60  i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

I  pt.  milk 0.54  0.57  0.76  3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94  d  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64  6.62  2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

I  oz.  lard       .     .  ....  o  99  §  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

5  oz.  fat  cheese 1.25  1.45  o.ii  3I  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

4-13  3-33  I9-S6  13S 

No.  4. 

16  oz.  bread 1.12  0.08  8.83  3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

6  oz.  oatmeal 0.87  0.36  3.90  li  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

I  pt.  milk 0.54  0.57  0.76  3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

4  oz.  beans 0.92  o.oS  2.14  i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64  G.62  2  at  60  els.  per  bushel. 

I  oz.  lard 0.99  i  at  10  cts.  per  Ih. 

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea I  at  -ji  els.  per  lb. 

4.00  2.08  23.19  \z'% 


28  HEAL  THY  FOODS. 

No.  5. 

* 

Proteids.        Faf:.    Carbo-hydrates.  Cost. 

Oz.  O7.  Oz.  Cts. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82         0.13       14.35         5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  oz,  rice 0.16         0.02         1.53         i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

I  egg 0.12  0.12  li  at  16  cts.  per  doz. 

I  oz.  lard 0.99  f  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

4  oz.  beans 0.92  0.08  2.14         i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

4  oz.  fat  cheese i.oo  1.16  0.08        3  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

4.02        2.50       18.10         iij 

No.  6. 

26  oz.  bread 182  0.13       14-35  5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

I  oz.  macaroni 0.09  0.76  li  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

4  oz.  beans 0.92  0.08         2.14  i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64  6.62  2  at  (>o  cts.  per  bushel. 

I  oz.  lard 0.99  §  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

4  oz.  fat  cheese i.oo  1.16    o.oS  3  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

1  oz.  sugar 0.94  A  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

3  5-0Z.  cups  of  tea      ....  i  'it  75  cts.  per  lb. 

4.47         2.36       24.89         14C 

Although  the  rations  suggested  in  the  preceding  tables  do  not  contain 
meat,  they  do  contain  more  or  less  animal  food,  and  are  healthy.  How- 
ever, the  writer  would  not  recommend  one  to  adhere  constantly  to  them, 
as  some  meat,  while  not  necessary  to  health,  does  undoubtedly  increase 
bodily  vigor. 

The  small  amount  of  really  nutritive  matter  in  tea  is  not  considered, 
and  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  articles  "  Tea  "  and  "  Cortee"  for  a  true 
explanation  of  the  food  values  of  these  drinks. 

It  will  be  seen  that  among  vegetable  foods  in  common  use,  oatmeal, 

beans,  and  potatoes  are  the  cheapest.     Since  the  prices  vary  so  greatly, 

not  onlv  at  diflerent  times,  but  in  different  parts   of  the   country  at  the 

same  time,  the  price  at  which  the  computation  is  inade  is  given  in  each 

instance ;  and  if  the  prevailing  price  differs  from  that  given,  any  one  can 

ascertain  the  change  that  would  be  produced  in  the  total  cost  of  the  daily 

rations. 

Class  II. —  Very  cheap  daily  rations  with  meat. 

No.  I. 

Proteids.      Fats.    Carbo-hydrates.  Cost. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz.  Cts. 

26  OZ.  bread 1.82        0.13       14.35         5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  oz.  codfish 1.60        0.02  I  i  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

2  OZ.  lard 1.98  li  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32  3.31  i  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

I  pt.  milk 0.54        0.57         0.76  3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea I  at  75  cts.  per  lb. 

4.28        2.70       19.36         13  cts. 


HEALTHY  J'OOi^S. 
No.  2. 

Proteids.  Fats.   Carbo-hydrates. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz. 

i6oz.  bread 1.12  0.08        8.83 

I  oz.  codfish 0.80  o.oi 

1  oz.  lard 0.99 

33  oz.  potatoes 0.64  6.62 

2  oz.  bacon        0.29  0.75 

4  oz.  beans 0.92  o.oS         2.14 

I  pt.  milk 0.54  0.57         0.76 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94 

3  5-ounce  cups  tea      .... 

4.31  2.48       19.29 


29 


Cost. 
Cts. 

3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
S  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
§  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 
\h  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  4  cents  per  lb. 

3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  75  cts.  per  lb. 

i3i 


No.  3. 


26  oz.  bread 1.82 

2  oz.  oatmeal 0.29 

I  pt.  milk 0.54 

1  oz.  sugar 

2  oz.  codfish 1.60 

8  oz.  potatoes 0.16 

2  oz.  lard 

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea 

4.41 


0.13 

14-35 

5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

0.12 

1.30 

i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

0.57 

0.76 

3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

0.94 

^  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

0.02 

i\  at  ID  cts.  per  lb. 

1.65 

h.  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

1.98 

i^at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  75  cts.  per  lb. 

2.82        19.00 


13 


No.  4. 


26  oz.  bread 1.82 

1  oz.  codfish 0.80 

2  oz.  lard 

6  oz.  beans 1.38 

2  oz.  fat  cheese 0.50 

I  pt.  milk 0.54 

I  oz.  sugar    

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea 

5.04 


0.13 

14-35 

O.OI 

1.98 

0.12 

3.21 

0.58 

0.04 

0.57 

0.76 

0.94 

3-39 

19.30 

5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
I  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
\\  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
ih  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 
i  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  75  cts.  per  lb. 

I3f 


No. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82 

2  oz.  fat  cheese 0.50 

2  oz,  bacon 0.29 

4  oz.  beans 0.92 

I  pt.  milk 0.54 

I  oz.  sugar    

3  8-oz.  cups  coffee 

4.07 


0.13 

14-35 

0.58 

0.04 

0.75 

0.08 

2.14 

0.57 

0.76 

0.94 

5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
i-i  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
li  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

1  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 
3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
i  at  S  cts.  per  lb. 

2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 


2.1i 


18.23         I4i 


30  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

No.  6. 

Proteids,  Fats.  Carbo-hydrates. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz. 

26  oz.  bread 1.S2  0.13       14.35 

2  oz.  codfish 1.60  0.02 

1  oz.  bacon 0.14  0.37 

2  oz.  lard 1.98 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32  3.31 

i  pt.  milk 0.27  0.28         0.38 

I  oz.  sugar 0-94 

3  S-oz.  cups  coffee      .... 

4.15  2.78       18  98 


Cost. 
Cts. 
5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf, 
li  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
i|  at  10  cts.  per  lb. 

1  at  60  cts.  per  bushel, 
r^  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

i3i 


Class  III. — Moderately  cheap  daily  rations 
No.  I. 

Proteids.         Fats.    Carbo-hydrates. 
Oz.  Oz.  Oz. 

16  oz.  bread 1.12  o.oS  8.83 

8  oz.  beef  (very  fat)    ....  1.36  2.12 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64  6  62 

2  oz.  oatmeal 0.29  0.12  i.oi 

i^  pt.  milk 0.81  0.85  1. 14 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94 

4.22         3.17       18.54 


Cost. 
Cts. 

3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
8  at  16  cts.  per  lb. 
2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 
iJ  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 
4.^  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 


No.  2. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82  0.13 

8  oz.  beef  (moderately  fat)  .     .  1.68  0.45 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32 

li  pt.  milk 0.81  0.S5 

I  oz.  butter 0.83 

4.63         2.26 

No.  3. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82  0.13 

4  oz.  mutton  (very  fat)    .     .     .  0.60  1.44 

4  oz.  beans 0.92  0.08 

I  qt.  milk 1.08  1.14 

4.42         2.79 

No.  4. 

26  oz.  bread 1.82         0.13 

8  oz.  mutton  (moderately  fat)    .  1.36         0.48 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64 

h.  pt.  milk 0.27         0.28 

I  oz.  sugar . 


14-35         5  ^t  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
9  at  iS  cts.  per  lb. 
3.31         I  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 
1. 1 4         4^  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
\h  at  24  cts.  per  lb. 

18.80         21 


14.35         5  ^t  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
4  at  16  cts.  per  lb. 
2.14         I  at4  cts.  per  lb. 
1.52         6  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

iS.oi  16 


14-35         5  ^M  f^ts.  per  lb. 
9  at  18  cts.  per  lb. 
6.62         2  at  60  clii.  per  bushel. 
0.38         ih  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
0.94         i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 


HEALTHY  FOODS. 


31 


2  oz.  butter  . 

3  8-oz.  cups  coffee 


26  oz.  bread       .     , 
4  oz.  pork  (lean) 

2  oz.  fat  cheese 
32  oz.  potatoes 

•i  pt.  milk      .     .     , 
I  oz.  butter  .     .     . 

3  8-oz.  cups  cotfee 


Proteids. 

Fats.   Carbo-hydrates.               '        Cost. 

Oz. 

Oz.              Oz.                                      Cu. 

1.66                       3  at  24  cts:  per  lb. 

2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

4.09 


No.  5. 


1.82 
0.80 
0.50 
0.64 
0.27 


0.13 
0.28 
0.58 

0.28 
0.83 


4-03 


No.  6. 


.29 


14-35 


6.62 
0.38 


26  02.  bread 

1.82 

0.13 

14-35 

2  02.  sausage  (best  quality) 

0.57 

0.80 

2  oz.  oatmeal 

0.29 

0.12 

1.30 

4  oz.  beans 

0.92 

0.08 

2.14 

I  oz.  bacon 

0.14 

0-37 

I  pt.  milk 

0.54 

0.57 

0.76 

I  oz.  butter 

0.83 

I  oz.  sugar    

0.94 

3  5-0Z.  cups  tea      .... 

4.28 


2.90      19.49 


23 


5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 
3  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
\h  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel, 
li  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
li  at  24  cts.  per  lb. 
2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

16^ 


5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf, 
i^  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
^  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 
i  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 
3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 
I  i  at  24  cts.  per  lb. 
i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 
I  at  75  cts.  per  lb. 

i4i 


Class  IV. — More  expensive  daily  rations. 
No.  I. 

PrcteiMs.  Fat<;.    C;irbo-hydrates.  Cost. 

Oz.                Oi.  Oz.                                       Cts. 

16  OZ.  bread 1.12    o.oS  S.S3  3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  eggs 0.24    0.24  4  at  24  cts.  per  doz. 

2  oz.  butter 1.66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

I  qt.  milk 1.08         1.14  1.52  8  at  8  cts.  per  qt. 

I  oz.  bacon        0.14         0.37  \  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

I  oz.  string  beans 0.03  0.06  2  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

8  oz.  mutton 1.36         0.48  9  at  18  cts.  per  lb. 

32  oz.  potatoes 0.64  6.62  2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel 

I  oz.  sugar o  94  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

1  oz.  dried  fruit 0.02  0.55  i|  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

4.63         3.97  18.52  34i 

No.  2. 

16  oz.  bread 1.12         o.oS  8.S3  3  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  oz.  oatmeal 029         0.12  1.30  i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  sugar 1 .88  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 


32  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

Proteids.  Fats.  Carbo-hydrates.  Cost. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz.                                     Cts. 

I  pt.  milk 0.54  0.57  0.76        3  at  6  Cts.  per  qt. 

1  oz.  macaroni 0.09  0.76  iij  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

8  oz.  beef 1.68  0.44  9  at  18  cts.  per  lb.* 

32  oz   potatoes 0.64  6.62  2  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

2  oz.  salmon 0.32  o.ii  li  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  butter 1.66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

3  8-oz.  cups  coflfee      ....  2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

4.68  298  20.15         27i 

No.  3. 

■20  oz.  bread 1.40  o.io  11.04        4  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

4  oz.  beef 0.84  0.22  4^  at  18  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  butter 1.66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  fat  pork 0.29  0.75  I ^  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  beans        0.46  0.04  1.07         i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  stanch 1. 67         2  at  16  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  sugar 1.88  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  dried  fruit 0.05  1. 11  2i  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

8  oz.  potatoes 0.16  1.65         i  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

8  oz.  lean  mutton 1.36  0.48  8  at  16  cts.  per  lb. 

3  8-oz.  cups  coffee       ....  2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 
i  pt.  milk 0.27  0.28  0.38         li  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

4.83  3.53  18.80        32 

No.  4. 

20  oz.  bread 1.40  o.io  11.04        4  at  5  cts.  pei  loaf. 

2  oz.  oatmeal 0.29  0.12  1.30         i  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

1  qt.  milk 1.08  1.14  1.52         6  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

2  oz.  sugar 1.88  i  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  butter 1.66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  mackerel 0.46  0.13  li  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

8  oz.  chicken 1.86  0.19  I2i  at  25  cts.  per  lb. 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32  3.30  i  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

8  oz.  fruit  (as  apple  sauce)  .     .  0.80  i  at  $1  per  bushel. 

5.41  3.34  19.84         3id 

No.  5. 

26  oz.  bread      ......     i. 82  0.13  I4-3S         5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  oz.  sausage 0.57  0.80  2  at  16  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  butter 1.66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

5  oz.  lean  beef       .     .     .     .'    .     1.68  0.08  9  at  18  cts.  per  lb. 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32  3.30  i  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

2  oz.  macaroni        0.18  1.53         2^  at  20  cts.  per  lb. 

1  qt.  milk 1.08  1.14  1.52         6  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

2  oz.  sugar 1.88         t  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

3  8-oz.  cups  coffee      ...  2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

5.65  3.81  22. 58         32i 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  33 

No.  6. 

Proteids.         Fiits.    Carbo-hydrates  Cost. 

Oz.  Oz.  Oz.  Cis. 

26  oz.  bread 1-82  0.13  14.35         5  at  5  cts.  per  loaf. 

2  eggs 0.24  0.24  4  at  24  cts.  per  doz. 

2  oz.  butter 1-66  4  at  32  cts.  per  lb. 

8  oz.  lean  beef 1.6S  0.08  9  at  18  cts.  per  lb. 

2  oz.  beans         0.46  0.04  1.07         ^  at  4  cts.  per  lb. 

I  oz.  bacon 0.14         0.37  I  at  12  cts.  per  lb. 

16  oz.  potatoes 0.32  3.30         i  at  60  cts.  per  bushel. 

I  oz.  sugar 0.94         h.  at  8  cts.  per  lb. 

I  pt.  milk 0.54         0.57         0.76         3  at  6  cts.  per  qt. 

3  8-oz.  cups  coffee       ....  2  at  27  cts.  per  lb. 

5.20         3.09       20.42         29I 

To  the  cost  of  the  raw  food,  as  given  in  the  preceding  tables,  is  to  be 
added  the  cost  of  cooking,  fuel,  keeping  the  table,  and  of  furnishing  sea- 
soning, such  as  salt,  pepper,  and  mustard.  Where  six  or  more  persons 
eat  together,  the  cost  of  the  above  items,  including  enough  to  pay  the 
wages  of  the  cook  and  waiters,  is  from  35  to  50  cents  per  week  for  each 
boai'der.  This  increases  the  daily  cost  of  board  by  from  5  to  7  cents 
above  the  figures  given  in  the  tables. 

ANIMAL   FOODS. 

MEATS GENERAL  PROPERTIES. 

A  large  proportion  of  our  daily  food  consists  of  material  derived  from 
the  animal  world.  Other  animals  take  vegetable  food  and  build  it  up, 
60  that  it  approximates  in  physical  and  chemical  properties  the  flesh  of 
jnan.  Of  the  foods  thus  derived  from  the  animal  kingdom,  meat  is  one 
of  the  most  important.  Meat  consists  of  different  food-stuffs,  as  water, 
mineral  salts,  albumen,  and  fat.  On  an  average,  100  parts  of  beef  consist 
of  72  parts  of  muscle,  8  parts  of  fat,  and  20  parts  of  bone  (including  car- 
tilage and  tendon).  The  age  of  the  animal,  and  the  manner  in  which  it 
has  been  fitted  for  market,  have  a  marked  effect  upon  the  composition  of 
the  flesh.  Veal  contains  3  per  cent,  more  of  water,  and  a  corresponding 
amount  of  solid  substance,  than  lean  beef.  Fat  beef  may  contain  as  much 
as  10  per  cent,  less  of  water  than  lean  beef.  The  same  is  true  of  the  dif- 
ference between  mutton  and  lamb.  Of  all  the  kinds  of  flesh  eaten,  fat 
bacon  contains  the  least  amount  of  water.  The  average  per  cent,  of 
water  in  bacon  is  60,  while  that  in  lean  beef  is  75.  The  flesh  of  wild 
fowl,  chickens,  and  pigeons  furnishes  on  an  average  77  per  cent,  of  water. 
Fish  is  especially  rich  in  water,  the  carp  yielding  80  per  cent.  The  fat 
in  lean  beef,  veal,  and  mutton  may  be  as  low  as  from  i  to  i  J  per  cent., 
while  that  of  fat  beef  is  14,  of  fat  mutton  9,  veal  6,  and  bacon  24.  Along 
with  these  variations  in  the  amounts  of  water  and  fat  there  are  corre- 
sponding changes  in  the  quantity  of  nitrogenous  material.     As  a  rule, 


34  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

fish  is  poorest  in  nitrogenous  substance,  the  per  cent,  in  carp  and  salmon 
being  13,  in  pickerel  15  ;  fat  veal,  mutton,  and  bacon,  15  ;  fat  beef,  16; 
lean  beef,  22. 

The  following  rules  may  govern  us  in  the  selection  of  meats  : 

Good  beef  has  a  reddish-brown  color,  and  contains  no  clots  of  blood. 
Well  nourished  beeves  furnish  a  flesh  which  while  raw  is  marbled  with 
spots  of  white  fat ;  it  is  firm  and  compact.  Old,  lean  animals  furnish  a 
flesh  which  is  tough,  dry,  and  dark  ;  the  fat  is  yellow.  Veal  is  slightly 
reddish,  and  has  tender,  white  fibres.  The  fat  is  not  distributed  through 
the  lean,  as  in  beef.  The  same  is  true  of  mutton.  In  well  nourished 
animals,  white  fat  accumulates  along  the  borders  of  the  muscles. 

Pork  is  rose-red,  and  has  fat  dis'tributed  through  the  muscle.     The  lard  . 
is  white,  and  lies  in  heavy  deposit  under  the  skin.     The  flesh  of  an  old 
boar  is  dark,  and  often  has  an  unpleasant  odor  and  taste. 

Good  beef  is  not  of  a  pale  pink  color,  and  such  a  color  indicates  that 
the  animal  was  diseased.  Good  beef  does  not  have  a  dark  purple  hue, 
for  this  color  is  evidence  that  the  animal  has  not  been  slaughtered,  but 
has  died  with  the  blood  in  its  body,  or  has  suffered  from  some  acute  feb- 
rile aflection. 

Good  beef  has  no,  or  but  little,  odor  ;  or  if  any  odor  is  perceptible  it 
is  not  disagreeable.  In  judging  as  to  the  odor  of  meat,  pass  a  clean 
knife,  which  has  been  dipped  in  hot  water,  through  it,  and  examine  sub- 
sequently as  to  the  odor  of  the  knife.  Tainted  meat  often  gives  off  a 
plainly  perceptible  and  disagreeable  odor  while  being  cooked. 

Good  meat  is  elastic  to  the  touch.  IMcat  that  is  wet  and  flabby  sliould 
be  discarded.  It  should  not  become  gelatinous  alter  being  kept<in  a  cool 
place  for  two  days,  but  should  remain  dry  on  the  surface  and  firm  to  the 
touch. 

The  flesh  of  ^-oung  animals  is  more  tender  than  that  of  the  adult,  but 
experiment,  as  well  as  experience,  has  shown  that  the  former  is  less  easily 
digested.  For  instance,  veal  and  lamb  are  less  easily  digested,  and  tax 
the  stomach  of  the  dyspeptic  more  than  beef  and  mutton.  Dr.  Smith 
has  shown  that  this  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  flesh  of  young  ani- 
mals cannot  be  perfectly  masticated.  The  tissues  of  the  young  animal 
are  less  stimulating,  less  nutritious,  and  more  gelat.inous  than  the  tissues 
of  the  adult  animal.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  well  known  that  an  animal 
may  be  so  old  and  poorly  nourished  that  its  flesh  well-nigh  defies  both 
mastication  and  digestion.  The  common  breeds  of  cattle  arc  best  fitted 
for  the  market  at  the  age  of  7  years  ;  the  better  breeds  earlier. 

It  makes  aclifierence  whether  the  special  meat  be  served  in  or  out  of 
season.  Beef  is  in  highest  season  in  the  early  months  of  winter,  after 
the  animal  has  been  furnished  abundant  pasturage,  though  not  absolutely 
out  of  season  at  any  time  of  the  year.  Fresh  pork  is  wholly  out  of  sea- 
son during  the  hot  months  of  summer.  Christison  found  in  salmon,  be- 
fore the  spawning  season,  1S.5  per  cent,  of  fat  and  39  per  cent,  of  solids  ; 
after  the  spawning  season,  i  per  cent,  of  fat  and  3Ct  per  cent,  of  solids. 

In  most  cases,  animals  are  fattened  for  the  table.     Some  fat  is  desira- 


HEAL  THY  FOODS.  3  5 

ble,  as  it  renders  the  meat  more  I'uicy,  and  develops  an  ajjreeal^le  flavor. 
But  the  process  of  fattening  is  often  carried  too  far.  Fat  should  be  taken 
in  a  finely  divided  state,  for  when  swallowed  in  lumps  it  is  Vv'ell-nigh 
indigestible.  Many  a  child,  which  has  been  reproved  for  refusing  to  eat 
fat  meat,  will  readily  take  the  same  amount  of  fat,  as  butter,  spread  upon 
brea'd.  The  manner  in  which  the  animal  has  been  killed  affects  the 
meat.  Slaughtering  is  usually  so  conducted  as  to  remove  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  blood.  Either  death  is  produced  by  the  withdrawal  of 
blood,  or  the  blood  is  withdrawn  as  soon  as  possible  after  death.  The 
removal  of  the  blood  enables  the  meat  to  be  kept  with  more  ease  ;  it  also 
improves  the  flavor. 

In  warm  countries  meat  is  often  cut  from  the  animal  and  cooked  as 
soon  as  death  is  produced,  and  before  rigor  jjiortis  (the  stiffness  of  death) 
sets  in.  While  the  rigor  is  on,  the  meat  is  more  difficult  of  mastication 
and  digestion.  In  temperate  latitudes  the  flesh  is  usually  kept  until  this 
rigidity  naturally  passes  oft'.  This  may  be  aided  by  pounding  the  meat 
after  it  has  been  cut  into  thin  pieces.  With  us,  the  onlv  annuals  which 
are  cooked  before  rigor  sets  in  are  fish,  frogs,  some  mollusks,  frequently 
domestic  fowls,  and  sometimes  wild  game. 

The  flesh  of  \vild  animals  is  I'icher  in  nitrogen  and  flavor,  and  contains 
less  fat,  than  thiit  of  the  same  species  kept  in  domestication. 

Meat  which  has  been  frozen  decomposes  easily  after  being  thawed  out, 
and  when  cooked  it  is  dry  and  insipid. 

The  ancient  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans  were  acquainted  with  the  fad 
that  the  flesh  of  diseased  animals  might  harmfully  affect  those  eating  ot 
it,  and  among  them  the  use  of  such  flesh  as  food  was  prohibited.  The 
strictest  measures  were  taken  to  see  that  the  meat  furnished  their  kings 
and  priests  was  obtained  from  healthy  animals.  Even  during  the  dark 
ages  this  prohiliition  of  the  use  of  flesh  from  diseased  animals  continued. 
During  the  eigliteenth  century,  however,  it  was  found  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  besieged  towns  ate  of  such  food  when  starvation  threatened 
them,  and  without  any  marked  detriment  to  health.  The  flesh  of  a  dis- 
eased animal  does  not  necessarily  con\ey  the  malady  to  tiie  consumer  ; 
Init  in  order  to  prevent  such  transmission  the  cooking  must  be  thorough. 
That  phthisis  (consumption)  may  be  imparted  to  dogs  by  feeding  them 
upon  tubercular  flesh  has  been  proven  experimentally.  Dr.  Livingston 
states  that  the  use  of  the  flesh  of  animals  afflicted  with  pleuro-pneumonia 
pi'oduces  carbuncle.  In  Germany  and  France  many  cases  of  anthrax  or 
malignant  pustule  in  man  have  arisen  from  partaking  of  the  flesh  of  ani- 
mals with  this  disease.  The  flesh  of  sheep  with  the  small-pox,  and  of 
oxen  with  the  cattle  plague,  has  affected  those  partaking  of  it.  Then 
there  are  the  parasites,  trichina;,  cysticerci  (in  '"measly"  meat),  and 
echino-cocci  (flukes),  which  may  be  transmitted  to  man.  If  every  part 
of  the  meat  he  raised  to  a  temperature  of  i6o°  Fahr.  during  cooking, 
these  parasites  are  destroyed  ;  but  if  the  blood-red  juices  exude  from  the 
interior  of  the  piece  of  meat  on  being  cut,  the  parasites,  if  present,  may 
still  retain  their  vitalitv. 


36  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

The  eating  of  the  flesh  of  diseased  animals  is  admissible  only  when  no 
better  food  can  be  secured,  and  when  starvation  threatens.  The  sale  of 
such  meat  is  prohibited  by  law,  and  any  one  guilty  of  such  an  outrage 
should  be  punished  to  the  fullest  extent. 

The  flesh  of  a  healthy  animal  may  become  poisonous  from  partial 
decomposition.  By  the  putrefaction  of  albuminous  substances,  certain 
organic  poisons  are  generated.  The  symptoms  produced  resemble  tiiose 
of  severe  cholera  morbus,  and  a  fatal  termination  is  not  infrequent. 
These  cases  most  frequently  arise  from  eating  sausage  and  canned  meats, 
though  they  may  be  due  to  any  meat  which  is  partly  putrid. 

Gerlach,  director  of  the  Royal  Veterinary  School  at  Berlin,  gives  the 
following  list  of  meats  which  should  not  be  eaten  : 

(r)  The  flesh  of  all  animals  which  have  died  of  internal  diseases,  or 
which  have  been  killed  while  suffering  from  such  diseases,  and  of  healthy 
animals  which  have  been  killed  by  over-driving ; 

(2)  The  flesh  of  animals  with  contagious  diseases  which  maybe  trans- 
mitted to  man  ; 

(3)  The  flesh  of  animals  which  have  been  poisoned  ; 

(4)  The  flesh  of  animals  with  severe  infectious  diseases,  such  as  blood 
poisoning  ; 

(tj)   Flesh  which  contains  parasites  that  may  be  transmitted  to  man  ; 
(6)    All  putrid  flesh. 

METHODS    OF    COOKING    MEAT. 

In  boiling  meat,  if  it  is  desired  to  retain  the  juices,  the  piece  should  be 
large,  and  should  be  placed  at  once  in  boiling  water,  and  the  boiling 
continued  for  five  minutes.  Then  the  temperature  of  the  \vater  should 
be  allowed  to  fall  to  160°  Fahr.,  at  which  point  it  should  be  maintained 
until  the  meat  is  done.  The  boiling  water  coagulates  the  outside  of  the 
meat,  and  thus  prevents  the  escape  of  the  juices.  If  the  temperature  be 
kept  at  or  near  the  boiling  point  throughout  the  process,  the  flesh  shrinks, 
becomes  tough,  loses  in  flavor,  and  is  finally  digested  with  much  dlfli- 
culty. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  the  object  of  the  boiling  is  to  make  a  good  soup, 
the  meat  should  be  cut  into  small  pieces,  placed  in  cold  water,  and  the 
temperature  gradually  raised  to  from  150°  to  160°  Fahr.  Chicken  broth 
is  the  most  nutritious  ;  mutton  next ;  while  beef  makes  a  very  weak  broth. 
By  boiling,  meat  loses,  as  a  rule,  from  25  to  30  per  cent,  of  its  weight. 

In  roasting,  the  oven  should  at  first  be  very  hot;  then  it  should  be 
cooled  down,  and  the  process  continued  at  a  low  temperature.  Since 
the  heat  applied  to  every  portion  of  the  outside  of  the  meat  cannot  be  so 
uniform  in  roasting  as  in  boiling,  the  loss  is  usually  greater  in  the  former 
than  in  the  latter. 

Stewed  meat  is  that  roasted  in  its  own  juices.  The  meat  is  cut  into 
small  pieces,  and  the  cooking  sliould  be  carried  on  at  as  low  a  tempera- 
ture as  possible.     The  extracted  matter  should  be  served  with  the  meat. 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  3/ 

Often  vegetables  are  stewed  with  the  meat,  thus  improving  the  flavor  of 
the  former. 

Proper  cooking  renders  the  meat  more  agreeable  to  the  senses  of  sight, 
smell,  and  taste,  and  thus  through  the  nervous  system  it  stimulates  the 
flow  of  the  digestive  fluids.  One  of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  error  in 
the  cooking  lies  in  using  too  high  a  temperature. 

BRIEF    CONSIDERATION    OF    THE    MEATS    IX    COMMON    USE. 

Beef.  Among  all  civilized  people  beef  is  regarded  as  the  principal 
animal  food.  By  common  consent  we  admit  that  beef  is  more  nutritious 
than  any  other  kind  of  flesh.  This  universal  opinion  is  supported  by  the 
investigations  of  science.  There  is  a  larger  proportion  of  nutritious 
material  m  beef  than  in  the  flesh  of  the  sheep  or  hog.  Beef  is  of  closer 
texture,  and  is  fuller  of  red-blood  juices.  It  is  richer  in  flavor  than  the 
flesh  of  any  other  domestic  animal,  and  a  smaller  amount  of  it  will  sat- 
isfy hunger.  Siegert  gives  the  following  figures,  showing  the  average 
per  cent,  composition  of  the  flesh  taken  from  different  parts  of  a  lean  and 
a  fat  ox  : 


Lean  Ox. 

Fat  Ox. 

Neck. 

Sirloin. 

Shoulder. 

Neck. 

Sirloin. 

Shoulder. 

ter, 

77-5 

774 

76.5 

73  5 

634 

50.5 

, 

0.9 

I.I 

1-3 

5.8 

16.7 

34-0 

sole, 

20.4 

20.3 

21.0 

19.5 

18.8 

14.S 

On  an  average,  6^  per  cent,  of  the  live  weight  of  an  ox  may  be  con- 
verted into  salable  meat,  the  exact  proportion  varying  with  the  degree 
to  which  the  animal  has  been  fattened.  The  greater  the  amount  of  fat, 
the  less  the  proportion  of  bone  and  other  waste. 

Not  only  does  beef  from  different  animals  differ  in  composition,  flavor, 
and  digestibility,  but  that  from  various  parts  of  the  same  animal  varies. 
The  flesh  from  the  different  parts  of  the  carcass  is  divided  into  the  fol- 
lowing four  classes,  according  to  quality  : 

Class  I.  Porterhouse,  sirloin,  and  best  cuts  from  the  rump  :  Price  per 
pound,  15  cents. 

Class  II.  Round,  shoulder,  ribs,  top  ribs,  flank  steak,  plate,  and  skirt, 
i2t  cents. 

Class  III.   Best  parts  of  neck,  brisket,  and  flank,  8  cents. 

Class  IV.   Poorer  parts  of  neck,  flank,  and  brisket,  7  cents. 

Pieces  of  shank  and  bone  are  usually  sold  by  the  piece,  and  not  by  the 
pound.  The  prices  vaiy  in  different  sections  of  the  country  and  at  differ- 
ent times,  but  the  writer  gives  the  above  figures  for  the  purpose  of  show- 
ing the  difference  in  value  of  different  parts  from  the  same  animal. 

Veal.  In  many  sections  of  the  country  calves  of  all  ages  are  slaugh- 
tered. In  some  cities,  as  in  Boston,  the  killing  of  a  calf  under  one 
month  of  age  for  food  is  prohibited.  It  would  be  well  if  this  law,  or  a 
more  extensive  one,  should  be  enforced  all  over  the  country.  Veal  is  too 
often  used  simply  as  a  dish  to  please  the  taste.     As  has  been  remarked, 


38  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

it  is  not  nearly  so  nutritious  as  beef,  and  is  much  more  difficult  of  diges- 
tion. Some  persons  are  wholly  unable  to  digest  veal,  and  when  they 
eat  of  it,  it  acts  as  a  foreign  body  in  the  intestines,  and  causes  griping 
and  diarrhoea.  Dr.  Smith  states  that  it  is  more  easy  of  digestion  when 
well  roasted  or  broiled  than  when  boiled.  The  time  required  for  the 
digestion  of  veal  is  five  hours  or  more,  while  beef  is  digested  in  from  two 
and  a  half  to  three  hours. 

The  mode  of  killing  often  practised  in  this  case  has  a  special  influence 
on  the  nutritive  value  of  the  food.  Veal  is  bleached  bv  repeatedly  bleed- 
ing the  animal  for  some  days,  and  at  last  allowing  it  to  bleed  to  death. 
The  bones  of  calves  contain  much  animal  matter,  and  for  this  reason 
they  are  used  for  the  production  of  gelatine  ;  and  calves'  feet  are  selected 
for  the  preparation  of  jellies,  which  are  often  very  acceptable  to  the  sick. 

Mutton.  This  is  more  easily  digested  than  beef,  though  in  a  healthy 
man  no  marked  difference  would  be  observed,  since  in  the  stomach  of 
such  a  man  there  arises  no  inconvenience  from  the  digestion  of  beef. 
However,  mutton  will  be  found  to  tax  the  stomach  of  the  dyspeptic  less 
than  beef  does,  and  mutton  broth  is  both  acceptable  and  valuable  to  a 
person  suffering  from  dysentery  or  kindred  affections  of  the  bowels.  But 
mutton  is  not  so  nutritious  as  beef. 

In  dressing  a  mutton,  the  woolly  coat  should  not  be  allowed  to  touch 
the  flesh.  There  is  quite  a  perceptible  difference  in  the  flavor  of  mutton 
taken  from  a  fattened  wether,  M^hich  has  been  for  some  time  deprived  of 
all  excess  in  his  woolly  coat,  and  of  that  taken  from  a  sheep  which  has  a 
heavy  fleece.  The  smallest  propoilion  of  both  fat  and  bone  to  muscle  is 
found  in  the  leg  ;  consequently  this  is  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  ani- 
mal. 

Lamb.  This  is  not  nearlv  so  nutritious  as  mutton.  The  tissue  is  soft, 
gelatinous,  and  rich  in  Avater.  It  is  used  principally  on  account  of  its 
delicacy  of  flavor,  which,  however,  is  very  variable,  depending  upon  the 
breed  and  nourishment.  Lamb  should  not  be  selected  for  those  whose 
digestive  organs  are  weak. 

Pork.,  Bacon.,  and  Ha7H.  As  a  rule,  dried  meats  are  more  difficult  of 
digestion  than  the  same  aieats  in  the  fresh  state.  Bacon  and  ham  are, 
however,  exceptions  to  this  rule,  for  when  well  cured  they  are  digested 
with  more  ease  than  fresh  pork.  In  cold  weather,  nice  bacon  is  espe- 
cially suited  for  furnishing  a  large  amount  of  heat  by  its  oxidation  i*n  the 
body.  The  inhabitants  of  cdld  countries  find  fatty  food  necessary  to  their 
existence. 

For  several  reasons,  the  flesh  of  the  hog  must  continue  to  form  one  ot 
the  most  important  sources  of  our  food.  This  animal  can  be  flattened 
more  readily  and  at  less  cost  than  either  the  ox  or  sliccp.  The  best 
breeds  of  pigs  store  up  in  their  bodies  three  times  as  much  of  the  food 
which  they  eat  as  the  ox  does.  Then  the  flesh  can  be  cured  easily  and 
preserved  indefinitelv.  Again,  the  animal  multiplies  rapidly  and  reaches 
maturity  speedily. 

On  the  other  hand,  of  all  the  meats  ordinarily  eaten,  this  is  most  likely 


HE  A  L  77/  Y  FO  ODS.  3  9 

to  be  diseased.  "  Measly '' jiork  can,  as  a  rule,  be  recognized  bv  the 
unaided  eye  on  close  inspection.  The  meat  is  dotted  with  gravish-white 
specks,  about  the  size  of  a  pea  ;  but  "  measly  "  pork  is  often  cut  up  into 
sausage,  in  which  the  diseased  condition  escapes  recognition.  The 
"measles"  (cysticerci),  taken  into  the  stomach  of  man.  develop  into 
tape  \\  orms.  Then  there  are  the  trichinje.,  which  can  be  recognized  onlv 
by  the  aid  of  the  microscope.  These  little  parasites  penetrate  the  mus- 
cles of  man,  causing  great  suffering,  which  often  terminates  in  death. 
These  parasites  occur  so  frequently  in  pork  and  its  cured  products,  that 
every  one  should  always  remember  that  the  flesh  of  the  hog  should  not 
be  eaten  unless  it  has  been  thoroughly  cooked.  As  we  have  stated,  these 
parasites  are  destroyed  if  the  temperature  of  every  part  of  the  meat  Ije 
raised  to  160'^  Fahr.  during  cooking. 

J^o-jvL  There  is  no  bird  that  may  not  be  eaten  in  case  of  necessitv. 
In  other  words,  the  flesh  of  no  bird  is  in  itself  poisonous.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  eggs  of  all  birds.  It  is  true  that  cases  of  poisoning  from  eat- 
ing quails,  during  spring,  have  occurred  ;  but  the  poisoni'.ig  was  due  to 
the  buds  of  the  mountain  laurel,  upon  which  the  birds  fed.  The  flesh  of 
carnivorous  birds  is  strong  in  odor  and  in  taste,  and  would  not  form  a 
tempting  dish,  save  to  one  threatened  with  starvation.  The  light  meats 
of  birds  are  more  easily  digested,  less  rich  in  nitrogen  and  in  flavor,  than 
the  dark  meats.  Chicken  broth  is  more  nutritious  than  tliat  made  from 
either  mutton  or  beef,  and  is  often  of  great  value  to  the  sick. 

Pish.  Undoubtedly  the  flesh  of  some  fish  is  poisonous.  A  fish  is  said 
to  justify  suspicion  when  it  has  attained  a  size  unusual  for  one  of  its  spe- 
cies This  popular  idea  may  have  a  grain  of  truth  in  it.  Fish  should 
be  discarded  if  the  water  in  which  it  is  being  boiled  blackens  silver.  The 
coloration  is  due  to  hydrogen  sulphide  (the  gas  of  bad  eggs),  and  indi- 
cates putrefactive  changes.  Decomposing  fish  has  a  pale  look,  and  its 
belly  is  bluish.  It  is  withered,  sticky  to  the  touch,  and  foul  in  odor. 
The  seller  sometimes  tries  to  hide  the  evidence  of  decomposition  by 
taking  the  eyeballs  out  and  coloring  the  gills  with  blood.  Fish  caught 
from  putrid  water  should  not  be  eaten.  Sometimes,  near  large  manu- 
facturing establishments  where  a  great  deal  of^'efuse  is  thrown  into  the 
water,  the  fish  are  killed,  and  may  be  brought  to  market.  The  flesh  of 
such  fish  is  yellowish,  soft,  spongy,  and  of  foul  odor.  Fish  mav  be 
divided  mto  those  furnishing  v^diite  and  those  furnishing  red  meats. 
Those  of  the  former  class,  as  the  whitefish,  are  delicate  and  easy  of  diges- 
tion, while  those  of  the  second  class  are  richer  in  nitrogen,  and  more 
stimulating.  Fish  should  not  be  left  in  the  water  after  they  are  dead, 
but  should  be  packed  in  ice. 

Fish  should  not  be  the  chief  flesh  diet  of  a  people,  because  it  is  not 
sufficiently  stimulating.  Indeed,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  class  of  people 
would  voluntarily  confine  themselves  to  such  food. 

But  the  occasional  use  offish  forms  a  change  ■which  is  both  agreeable 
and  beneficial.  There  is  no  truth  in  the  popular  idea  that  a  fish  diet  is 
especially  suited  to  the  development  of  the  brain  and  nervous  system. 


40  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

Along  with  fish  are  often  classed  certain  crustaceans,  as  the  crab  and 
lobster,  and  certain  mollusks,  as  the  oyster  and  mussel.  The  oyster  and 
mussel  are  gelatinous,  but  are  easily  masticated  and  digested.  The  lob- 
ster, crayfish,  and  crab  are  more  muscular,  and  are  somewhat  more  dif- 
ficult of  mastication  and  digestion.  The  nutritive  value  of  tlie  oyster  is 
not  very  great,  but  its  delicacy  of  flavor  and  ease  of  digestion  make  it  ot 
great  value  to  all,  and  especially  to  the  sick.  The  raw  oyster  is  probably 
more  easily  digested  than  the  cooked. 

The  crab  and  lobster  are  of  considerable  nutritive  value,  though,  on 
account  of  price,  they  are  used  principally  as  delicacies. 

Sausage.  The  food  value  of  sausage  depends  upon  the  substances  out 
of  which  it  is  prepared.  If  made  from  good  meat  it  forms  a  very  valu- 
able preparation,  as  by  this  means  all  the  small  bits  are  collected  and 
saved.  But  its  method  of  preparation  allows  of  the  introduction  of  poor 
grades  of  flesh,  and  of  several  adulterations. 

The  adulterations  which  have  been  found  in  sausage  are  meal,  to  in- 
crease the  bulk  and  the  profit ;  salicylic  acid  and  borax,  to  prevent 
decomposition;  and  a  red  coloring  matter  (fuchsia),  to  give  the  poorer 
quality  of  meat  a  better  color.  The  liver  sausage  (leberwurste  of  the 
Germans)  is  made  by  grinding  up  liver,  lungs,  kidney,  tendon,  soft  car- 
tilao-e,  and  fat ;  sometimes  meal  is  added.  The  so-called  white  sausage, 
which  is  used  to  some  extent  in  this  country,  is  made  by  mixing  the 
crumbs  of  white  bread  with  the  meat.  Blood  or  red  sausage  consists  of 
a  mixture  of  blood,  fat,  and  flesh,  with  or  without  meal.  Pea  sausage  is 
a  well  known  preparation  in  France,  where  it  is  patented  and  warranted 
not  to  become  rancid.  It  is  of  variable  composition,  but  consists  prin- 
cipally of  ground  pease  with  meat,  and  some  preservative,  as  salicylic 
acid.      The  writer  docs  not  know  of  its  introduction  into  this  country. 

Sausage  poisoning,  which  is  common  and  so  often  fatal  in  parts  of 
Germany,  is  fortunately  very  rare  in  this  country,  though  a  similar  affec- 
tion from  canned  and  dried  meats  is  becoming  too  frequent.  The  poison 
is  generated  by  partial  decomposition.  Sausage  which  has  a  putrid  odor, 
or  rancid  taste,  or  has  greenish  or  yellow  spots  in  its  interior,  should 
not  be  eaten.  Bad  sausage,  and  other  similar  meat  preparations,  are 
usually,  in  the  interior  at  least,  soft  and  sticky,  and  when  broken  show 
small  cavities.     This  is  true  even  when  the  outside  appears  to  be  all  right. 

Meat  Extracts.  Liebig's  meat  extract,  which  is  now  so  well  known, 
is  made  by  boiling  lean  meat  with  from  eight  to  ten  times  its  volume  of 
water,  removing  the  insoluble  parts,  fat  and  albumen,  and  evaporating 
to  the  consistency  of  a  syrup.  About  thirty  pounds  of  meat  yield  one 
pound  of  extract.  Meat  extracts  are  made  on  the  largest  scale  in  South 
America,  from  cattle  which  are  wholly  worthless  for  beef. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  extract  consists  only  of  those  constituents  of 
the  meat  which  are  soluble  in  water,  and  they  are  certain  crystallizable 
organic  bodies  and  the  inorganic  salts.  All  the  really  nutritive  parts 
of  the  meat  are  insoluble  in  water,  and  are  not,  therefore,  present  in 
the  extract.     Liebig's  extract  and  similar  preparations  are  agreeable  in 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  4 1 

taste  and  odor,  and  are  valuable  stimulants,  often  improving  the  appetite, 
so  that  more  valuable  foods  are  demanded  and  digested.  As  stimulants, 
they  are  of  great  value  to  the  sick  ;  but  some  other  food  should  also  be 
supplied.  A  German  deprived  two  dogs  of  all  solid  food,  giving  one 
only  water,  and  the  other  meat  extract.  The  one  furnished  with  the 
extract  lost  flesh  more  rapidly  than  the  other,  and  died  first. 

Beef -Tea.  This  should  be  prepared  as  follows:  Cut  the  beef-steak 
into  fine  pieces.  Put  the  chopped  meat,  ■without  any  water.,  into  a 
small  vessel,  which  is  set  into  a  kettle  of  warm  water.  Heat  gradually, 
keeping  the  water  in  the  kettle  above  blood-heat,  but  do  not  allow  it  to 
boil.  Remove  the  small  vessel  containing  the  meat  and  the  juice  which 
has  exuded  from  it,  strain  its  contents,  season,  and  serve. 

As  thus  prepared,  beef-tea  is  somewhat  more  nutritious  than  Liebig's 
extract ;  still,  its  chief  value  is  to  those  who  need  a  stimulant,  and  to  those 
for  whom  a  very  small  amount  of  food  is  sufficient. 

Fluid  Meats  and  Peptoties.  These  are  supposed  to  be  formed  by 
artificial  digestion,  whereby  the  same  products  are  produced  as  in  the 
stomach.  The  best  of  them  are  of  value  ;  others  are  worthless.  They 
are  to  be  regarded  as  medicines,  and  are  to  be  used  according  to  the 
directions  of  the  physician. 

Bone  and  Cartilage.  Bone  consists  of  a  gelatine  forming  organic  sub- 
stance, and  of  mineral  salts.  Besides,  the  marrow  contains  considerable 
fat  and  a  little  albumen.  About  one  third  of  bone  is  organic  matter,  a 
lai'ge  part  of  which  is  soluble  in  boiling  water.  For  this  reason,  bone  is 
of  value  in  making  soups.  The  long  bones  are  not  acted  upon  by  water 
readily,  unless  they  first  be  cut  or  ground  into  small  pieces.  The  bones 
of  the  spine  and  the  ribs  make  a  very  nutritious  soup,  which  yields  as 
much  as  twent}'-four  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  bone  in  solid  matter. 
Bones  should  be  boiled  for  several  hours,  in  order  to  get  all  the  food- 
stufts  out  of  them.  When  we  remember  that  these  soups  are  also  used 
for  the  purpose  of  serving  vegetables,  we  may  appreciate  the  real  value 
of  bone  as  a  source  of  food. 


Milk  is  a  white,  vellowish  white,  or  bluish  white  fluid.  It  consists  of 
a  colorless  fluid  holding  milk  globules  in  suspension.  These  globules 
render  the  fluid  opaque. 

The  reaction  of  fresh  milk  (cows')  is  sometimes  alkaline,  sometimes 
acid  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  it  gives  both  reactions,  turning  blue  litmus  paper 
red  ;  and  red  litmus,  blue. 

Composition.  Milk  contains  representatives  of  all  the  classes  of  food. 
The  albuminous  constituents  are  casein  and  albumen.  The  former  is 
coagulated  when  the  milk  becomes  sour,  or  on  the  addition  of  an  acid,  or 
bv  the  action  of  rennet.     The  albumen  is   precipitated  by   heat.     The 

'As  cow's  milk  is  the  only  kind  that  is  used  as  a  commercial  food  in  this  country,  all  the  state- 
ments made  will  refer  to  this  kind  unless  some  other  kind  be  specified. 


42  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

amount  of  casein  is  much  larger  than  that  of  albumen.  There  is  also  a 
nitrogenous  constituent  which  is  not  coagulated  by  either  heat  or  acids. 

The  fat  of  milk  forms  butter,  and  the  importance  of  this  constituent  is 
so  great  that  we  often  decide  as  to  the  value  of  a  given  sample  of  milk 
from  the  amount  of  butter  which  it  yields. 

Milk  sugar  has  the  same  chemical  composition  as  cane  sugar  ;  but  tliev 
differ  somew'hat  in  their  physical  properties. 

If  some  milk  be  evaporated  to  dryness  and  the  residue  be  burned,  there 
remains  a  flaky,  white  ash,  which  contains  all  the  inorganic  salts  which 
are  absolutely  necessary  to  the  body. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  per  cent,  composition  of  milk : 

Water.  Casein  and  Albumen.  Fat  Milk  Sugar.  Ash 

87-5  3-5  3-5  4-8  0.7 

Colostrum.  The  fluid  which  the  cow  .yields  directly  after  calving  is 
known  as  colostrum,  which  differs  essentially  in  composition  from  milk, 
and  is  unflt  for  human  food.  It  gradually,  however,  approximates  milk, 
and  the  change  mav  be  regarded  as  complete  by  the  eighth  or  tenth 
day.  The  fat  of  colostrum  is  in  large  lumps,  and  it  contains  much  more 
albumen  than  milk  does.  Its  average  composition  is  shown  by  the  follow- 
ing figures  : 


Water. 

Albumen  and  Casein. 

Fat. 

Milk  Sugar. 

Ash. 

73-07 

19.21 

3-54 

3.00 

1. 18 

The  Care  of  Milk.  Milk  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  in  copper, 
brass,  or  zinc  vessels,  nor  in  earthen  vessels  \vhich  are  lined  vvith  lead 
glazing ;  for  if  the  milk  should  become  at  all  sour,  traces  of  the  metal 
mav  be  dissolved  in  it.  There  is  no  objection  to  w'ooden  vessels  if  they 
are  kept  scrupulously  clean.  But  when  emptied  they  should  be  scalded 
with  boiling  water,  and  then  dried  before  they  are  refilled.  There  are 
also  no  objections  to  the  best  glazed  earthen  or  to  well  tinned  vessels. 

Milk  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  uncovered  in  an  occupied  room, 
especially  in  a  sitting-  or  a  bed-room.  The  fluid  rapidly  absorbs  gases 
which  may  set  up  putrefactive  changes  in  it.  Besides,  the  dust  which 
falls  into  it  may  contain  disease  germs,  and  these,  finding  a  suitable  place 
for  their  development,  may  multiply  rapidly.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  milk  has  often  served  as  the  vehicle  for  distributing  the  germs  of  scar- 
let fever  and  di^^htheria,  which  have  fallen  into  it,  or  have  been  introduced 
with  tlie  water  which  has  been  used  in  diluting  the  milk,  or  for  washing 
the  vessels  in  which  it  is  carried. 

Souring  of  Milk.  This  fluid,  on  t-tanding,  sooner  or  later  becomes 
distinctly  sour,  and  its  casein  is  coagulated.  This  is  due  to  the  action 
of  a  ferment,  which  is  alwavs  present  in  the  milk,  on  the  milk-sugar, 
which  is  converted  into  lactic  acid.  The  coagulated  casein  is  known  as 
"clabber."  and  the  fluid  portion  forms  whey.  The  best  method  of  re- 
tarding the  souring  process  in  milk  con^lssts  in  keeping  it  in  a  cool  place. 


HEALrilY  FOODS.  43 

Boiling  has  a  similar  effect,  but  it  alters  the  nature  of  the  fluid  more  or 
less.  Milkmen  sometimes  add  bicarbonate  of  soda  to  milk  to  prevent  its 
souring.     The  alkali  simply  neutralizes  the  acid  as  fast  as  it  is  formed. 

Adulterations.  While  a  great  deal  that  is  sensational  has  been  said 
about  the  adulterations  of  milk,  these  frauds  ara  perpetrated  too  fre- 
quently. A  food  which  forms  the  principal,  and  in  many  instances  the 
sole,  sustenance  of  children,  should  be  kept  free  from  any  adulteration 
which  in  any  way  lessens  its  nutritive  value.  To  furnish  a  child  with 
watered  milk  is  often  to  slowly  starve  it  to  death,  and  the  person  guilty 
of  such  an  act  should  be  treated  as  a  criminal. 

The  adulterations  practised  in  the  sale  of  milk  are  as  follows  : 

(i)  The  addition  of  water,  (2)  the  removal  of  more  or  less  of  the 
cream,  (3)  the  addition  of  some  foreign  solid  substance  to  increase  the 
opacity  or  density  of  the  fluid. 

The  addition  of  water  is  the  fraud  most  commonly  practised.  The 
amount  added  varies  from  ten  to  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  milk  ;  though  the 
former  figure  is  probably  the  one  most  frequently  approximated.  Several 
states  have  laws  defining  the  amount  of  milk  solids,  which  must  be  pres- 
ent. Wherever  these  laws  are  enfo^ed  they  form  a  valuable  protection 
to  the  consumer,  and  to  honest  dairymen  as  well.  Unfortunately,  there 
is  no  ready  test  capable  of  being  used  by  any  one,  by  which  the  exact 
amount  of  water  can-  be  determined.  The  amount  of  cream  which 
forms  on  a  given  volume  of  milk  standing  in  a  tall  glass  tube  or  other 
vessel  is  a  rough  but  valuable  method  which  every  housewife  may  em- 
ploy. From  this  she  cannot  say  with  certainty  to  her  milkman  that  he 
has  watered  his  milk,  but  she  can  tell  him  that  the  milk  is  not  as  rich  as 
it  should  be. 

However,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  cream  rises  on  milk  much 
quicker  under  some  conditions  than  vmder  others.  Waterv  milk  may  be 
produced  by  feeding  cows  upon  sloppy  food,  such  as  the  refuse  from 
breweries,  as  well  as  by  the  direct  addition  of  water.  Besides,  watery 
milk  often  has  a  bluish  color,  and  is  not  as  opaque  as  healthy  milk  ; 
though  tliis  appearance  is  sometimes  hidden  by  the  addition  of  a  yellow 
coloring  substance,  annatto. 

vSkimmed  milk  is  frequently  sold  for  whole  milk.  In  certain  states 
there  are  very  excellent  laws  against  such  a  practice.  The  same  rough 
test  inay  be  made  as  given  above  for  watered  milk.  Sometimes  skimmed 
milk  is  added  to  an  unskimmed  portion,  and  then  sold  as  whole  milk. 

The  addition  of  foreign  solids  is  not  frequently  resorted  to.  The  most 
common  substance  used  is  bicarbonate  of  soda  for  the  purpose  of  prevent- 
ing the  souring  of  the  milk,  as  has  alre:uly  been  stated.  In  tlie  amount 
used,  it  does  not  affect  the  food  value  of  the  milk.  It  is  frequently  said 
that  chalk,  gypsum,  and  gum  arable  are  added  to  milk.  Thev  mav  lie 
used  occasionally  ;  but  stupid  indeed  must  be  the  consumer  who  woukl 
not  detect  these  substances,  which,  on  account  of  their  insolubility,  would 
be  deposited  in  the  vessel.  It  has  also  been  stated  that  the  brains  of 
calves  and  other  animals  are  pulverized  or  ground  fine,  and  placed  in 


44  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

milk.  This  is  an  adulteration  found  in  sensational  books,  but  not  in 
milk. 

Diseased  A/ilk.  There  can  be  no  question  about  the  possibility  of  the 
transmission  of  certain  diseases  from  the  lower  animal  to  man  through 
the  use  of  milk  as  a  food.  In  inflammation  of  the  udder,  the  secretion  of 
the  gland  is  diminished,  and  the  act  of  milking  causes  the  animal  much 
pain.  The  milk  is  of  unpleasant  odor,  and  contains  lumps  of  coagulated 
casein  and  albumen,  and  sometimes  blood  and  pus.  Such  milk  may 
cause  irritation  and  even  inflammation  of  the  stomach  in  children.  In 
all  acute  febrile  diseases  of  cows  the  amount  of  the  secretion  is  dimin- 
ished, and  in  severe  fevers  the  flow  of  milk  ceases  altogether.  In  chronic 
diseases,  as  those  of  the  digestive  organs,  the  milk  becomes  thin  and 
watery. 

The  cause  of  the  disease  known  as  milk-sickness,  which  has  prevailed 
in  certain  parts  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  Kentuck}',  Tennessee,  Georgia,  and 
some  other  states,  has  never  been  ascertained.  .Some  ascribe  it  to  plants 
which  the  cows  eat ;  others  are  equally  certain  that  the  drinking  water  is 
the  source.  As  the  countrv  becomes  more  improved,  the  disease  appears 
less  frequentlv.  This  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that  the  poison  is 
obtained  from  some  native  plant  which  is  destroyed  by  cultivation  of  the 
soil. 

Unfortunately,  in  many  diseases  of  cows,  during  the  first  stages  at 
least,  the  changes  in  the  character  of  the  milk  are  not  sufiiciently  marked 
to  be  observed  ; — however,  the  following  kinds  of  milk  should  be  avoided  : 

(i)  Milk  which  becomes  sour  and  cui^dles  within  a  few  hours  after  it 
has  been  drawn,  and  before  any  cream  forms  on  its  surface.  This  is 
known  in  some  sections  as  "  curdly"  milk,  and  it  comes  from  co.ws  with 
certain  inflammatory  affections  of  the  udder,  or  with  digestive  diseases, 
or  from  those  which  have  been  over-driven  or  worried. 

(2)  "  Bitter-sweet  milk"  is  that  whose  cream  has  a  bitter  taste,  is  cov- 
ered with  "  blisters,"  and  frequently  with  a  fine  mold.  Butter  and  cheese 
made  from  such  milk  cannot  be  eaten  on  account  of  the  disagreeable 
taste. 

(3)  "  Slimy  milk"  can  be  drawn  out  into  fine  ropy  fibres.  It  has  an 
unpleasant  taste,  which  is  most  marked  in  the  cream.  The  causes  which 
lead  to  the  secretion  of  this  milk  are  not  known. 

(4)  "Blue  milk"  is  characterized  by  the  appearance  on  its  surface, 
eighteen  or  twenty  hours  after  it  is  drawn,  of  small  indigo-blue  spots, 
which  rapidly  enlarge  until  the  whole  surface  is  covered  with  a  blue  film. 
If  the  milk  be  allowed  to  stand  for  a  few  days,  the  blue  is  converted  into 
a  greenish  or  reddish  color.  This  coloration  of  the  milk  is  due  to  the 
growth  of  a  microscopic  organism.  The  butter  made  from  "  blue  milk  " 
is  dirty-white  in  color,  gelatinous  in  consistency,  and  bitter  in  taste. 

(5)  "Barn-yard  milk"  is  a  term  used  to  designate  milk  taken  from 
unclean  animals,  or  those  which  have  been  kept  in  filthy,  unventilated 
stables.  The  milk  absorbs  and  carries  the  odors,  which  are  often  plainly 
perceptible.     Such  milk  may  not  be  poisonous,  but  it  is  repulsive. 


I/EAL7V/V  FOODS.  45 

T'he  Value  of  All' Ik  as  a  Food.  Tlic  importance  of  this  article  of  diet 
can  hardly  be  be  over-estimated.  For  children,  it  is  the  mainstay.  For 
adults,  it  is  a  substance  palatable  and  easily  digested.  About  two  quarts 
of  good  rich  milk  per  day  will  support  life,  even  if  no  other  food  be  taken. 
One  sick  with  a  wasting  disease,  such  as  typhoid  fever,  has  his  chances 
of  recovery  greatly  increased  if  he  takes  milk  with  comfort  and  digests  it 
with  ease.  For  the  infant,  there  is  no  other  food  which  can  fully  sup- 
plant the  milk  of  the  mother.  Physicians  of  large  experience  say  that 
the  chances  of  rearing  a  babe  are  ^o  per  cent,  better  when  it  is  well  sup- 
jDlied  with  healthy  milk  by  its  mother  than  when  nourished  by  artificial 
preparations.  Woman's  milk  contains  less  fat  and  casein,  and  more 
sugar,  than  the  cow's  milk.  When  it  becomes  absolutely  necessary  to 
substitute  the  latter  for  the  former,  the  cow's  milk  should  be  diluted  w^ith 
one  third  its  volume  of  warm  water,  and  one  half  ounce  of  milk-sugar 
should  be  added  to  each  pint.  As  the  child  grows  older,  the  amount  of 
water  added  should  be  diminished,  until,  at  the  age  of  six  months,  undi- 
luted cows'  milk  may  be  used. 

Condensed  Milk.  This  is  prepared  by  evaporating  milk  in  a  vacuum 
to  one  fifth  its  volume,  or  to  the  consistency  of  honey,  placing  it  in  cans, 
which  are  set  in  water,  the  temperature  of  which  is  raised  to  the  boiling 
point,  when  the  cans  are  sealed.  Sometimes  cane  sugar  is  added  after 
evaporation.  When  used,  condensed  milk  is  diluted  with  five  times  its 
volume  of  warm  water.  It  forms  a  valuable  substitute  for  fresh  milk 
when  the  latter  cannot  be  obtained.  Its  exact  value  will  depend  upon 
the  quality  of  the  milk  used  in  its  preparation.  The  three  most  prom- 
inent brands  of  this  preparation  used  in  this  country  are  the  Anchor,  the 
Swiss,  and  the  Anglo-Swiss.  The  writer  has  examined  these,  and  found 
them  all  of  good  quality. 

BUTTER. 

Of  all  the  fats,  butter  is  the  most  palatable  and  most  easily  digested. 
Only  wdien  it  is  rancid  does  it  lead  to  dyspepsia.  It,  like  all  other  fats, 
should  be  taken  in  a  finely  divided  state.  Its  food  value  is  great,  and  the 
amount  consumed  per  head  daily  is  about  one  ounce. 

Physical  Properties.  Good  butter  is  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  which  is 
uniformly  difiused  through  it.  The  exact  color  of  butter  varies  with  the 
fcjod  of  the  cow  :  but  as  a  yellow  butter  is  universally  demanded  in  mar- 
ket, makers  almost  invariably  use  a  preparation  of  annatto.  This  arti- 
ficial coloration  has  been  so  long  practised,  and  as  the  use  of  the  coloring 
material  is  not  detrimental  to  health,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  legitimate 
use.  Good  butter  is  free  from  rancid  taste  and  odor.  White  lumps  in 
butter  are  due  to  the  coagulation  of  casein,  from  the  milk  becoming  too 
:icid,  and  its  incorporation  with  the  cream.  When  a  watery  fluid  exudes 
from  the  freshly  cut  surface  of  butter,  it  is  evidence  that  the  buttermilk 
was  not  expressed  as  thoroughly  as  it  shouUl  have  been,  or  that  water 
iias  been  added  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  weight. 

Composition.     The  amount  of  water  in  butter  will  depend  upon  the 


46  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

manner  of  preparation  and  the  quantity  of  salt  added.  In  some  families 
an  unsalted  butter  is  used.  This  does  not  contain  more  than  from  3  to 
6  per  cent,  of  water.  But  as  a  rule  more  or  less  salt  is  added  in  making 
the  butter.  This  is  done  to  insure  the  preservation  of  the  fat,  and  most 
people  consider  such  an  addition  an  improvement  to  the  taste.  Good 
salted  butter  will  not  contain  more  than  from  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  water, 
while  the  poorer  grades  may  contain  as  much  as  28  per  cent.  This  large 
amount  is  taken  up  only  when  boiling  water  is  mixed  Avith  the  fat,  and 
then  the  whole  allowed  to  cool. 

The  salt  used  in  butter  should  be  finely  ^^i-ilverized  and  thoroughly 
mixed  with  the  fat.  From  3  to  5  per  cent,  of  salt  is  all  that  is  needed  for 
preservation,  luit  in  order  to  increase  the  weight,  from  10  to  15  per  cent, 
is  sometimes  added.  Good  butter  contains  from  ^^  to  90  per  cent,  of 
fat,  and  any  which  contains  less  than  83  per  cent,  may  be  considered  as 
adulterated.  The  most  common  fraud  in  regard  to  the  fat  consists  in  the 
use  of  tallow  and  lard,  w'hich  will  be  discussed  under  the  heads  of  oleo- 
margarine and  butterine. 

The  greatest  amount  of  casein  permissible  in  butter  is  2  per  cent.  If 
there  be  much  more  present,  the  butter  is  lumpy.  There  is  now  being 
sold  to  dairymen  a  recipe  by  which  it  is  guaranteed  that  a  given  volume 
of  milk  will  be  made  to  yield  25  per  cent,  more  of  butter.  The  process 
consists  in  the  coagulation  of  all  the  casein  in  the  milk,  and  its  incorpora- 
tion with  the  fat.  The  product  is  really  not  butter  at  all.  but  an  inferior 
soft  cheese.  An  excess  of  casein  in  butter  increases  its  liabilitv  to  become 
rancid. 

Hoxv  to  Take  Care  of  Butter.  Butter,  like  milk,  takes  up  unpleas- 
ant odors  :  for  this  reason  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  stand  exposed  to 
the  air  of  occupied  rooms,  nor  in  other  places  that  may  become  foul. 
When  freely  exposed  to  air  butter  becomes  rancid  :  it  should  be  tightly 
packed  and  covered.  Warmth  hastens  rancidity  :  it  should  be  kept  in  a 
cool  place. 

OLEOMARGARINE    AND    BUTTERINE. 

Oleoviargarine.  This  substance  is  now  largely  manufactured  and 
sold  in  this  country,  generally  under  the  name  of  butter,  but  sometimes 
under  its  proper  name.  It  is  made  as  follows  :  The  best  beef  fat  is  cut 
from  the  carcass  while  it  is  still  warm.  All  bloody  portions,  and  those 
tainted  in  any  other  way,  are  rejected.  The  selected  fat  is  i^laced  in 
fresh  cold  water,  in  which  it  is  both  cooled  and  washed.  It  is  then 
ground  like  sausage.  Then  it  is  heated  from  160°  to  iSo°  Fahr.,  by 
which  the  oil  is  separated  from  the  membranes.  The  oil,  after  being 
salted,  IS  cooled,  and  then  pressed.  Then  it  is  placed  in  milk,  a  pix'pa- 
ration  of  annatto  added,  and  the  whole  churned,  when  it  is  worked  as 
butter.  The  temperature  at  which  the  oil  is  separated  from  the  mem- 
brane should  be  as  low  as  possible  ;  hut  in  practice  it  varies  within  large 
limits.  Some  manufacturers  use  a  heat  of  only  1  20°,  while  others  allow 
the  temperature  to  run  up  to  200°  F.  The  oil  thus  prepared  is  known  tO' 
the  trade  as  '•  butter  oil." 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  47 

Btitterinc.  This  is  prepared  by  the  mixture  of  "  butter  oil"  obtained 
from  beef  fat,  as  in  making  oleomargarine,  and  a  similar  oil  obtained 
from  hog  fat,  and  churning  with  milk.  The  oil  from  the  lard  is  sepa- 
rated at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  120°  F. 

A  great  deal  has  been  said  against  the  use  of  these  preparations  as 
foods.  Several  states  have  laws  which  require  that  when  such  articles 
are  sold,  the  buver  shall  receive  them  from  a  vessel  which  is  lal)elled 
with  the  word  Oleomargarine,  or  Butterine,  as  the  case  may  be,  in 
letters  one  inch  high,  and  the  portion  taken  by  the  buyer  shall  be  cov- 
ered with  a  paper  which  also  bears  the  true  name  of  the  fat.  This  law 
is  certainly  a  just  one,  as  everv  article  of  food  should  be  sold  under  its 
proper  name  ;  and  the  price  of  good  butter  should  not  be  demanded  for 
these  imitations.  At  least  two  states, — New  York  and  Michigan, — have 
enactments  which  wholly  forbid  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  these  prep- 
arations. These  laws  are  both  unwise  and  unjust.  Oleomargarine  and 
butterine  are  valuable  food-stufts.  They  are  not  equal  to  the  best  grades 
of  butter,  but  are  far  superior  to  the  poor,  partly  rancid  butter  which 
is  so  generally  sold  in  the  large  cities.  As  has  been  seen  from  the 
methods  of  preparation  given  above,  only,  the  verv  best  pieces  of  fat 
can  be  used.  Anv  tat  which  has  an  unpleasant  odor,  or  is  in  the  least 
degree  f(jul.  must  be  rejected,  for  there  is  no  method  known  for  remov- 
ing tlie  odor. 

One  of  the  greatest  dietarv  needs  of  the  working-man  is  a  sufficient 
supply  of  an  inexpensive,  wholesome  fat.  This  will  be  largely  met  by 
these  artificial  butters. 


Cheese  is  of  considerable  nutritive  value,  one  pound  containing  as 
much  nitrogen  as  two  pounds  of  meat,  and  as  much  fat  as  three  pounds 
of  meat ;  but,  as  a  rule,  cheese  is  difficult  of  digestion,  and  can  be  taken 
only  in  small  amount  at  a  time.  Moreover,  the  exact  composition  of 
cheese  is  quite  variable.  It  is  made  both  from  whole  and  skimmed 
milk,  and  at  present  some  is  made  from  skimmed  milk  to  which  oleo- 
margarine or  butterine  has  been  added.  The  dairyman  skims  his  milk, 
making  butter  from  the  cream  ;  then  to  the  skimmed  milk  he  adds  the 
fatty  preparation,  and  makes  cheese.  In  this  way  the  same  milk  is  made 
to  produce  both  butter  and  cheese.  It  is  a  popular  idea,  that  while  cheese 
itself  is  digested  with  difficulty,  a  small  amount  of  it  in  the  stomach  aids 
the  digestion  of  other  substances.  The  experiments  of  Dr.  Edward 
Smith  have  confirmed  this  belief.  As  digestion  is  partlv  due  to  fermen- 
tation, ;!nd  since  cheese  contains  certain  ferments,  the  belief  is  not  in"a- 
tional  ;  but  when  taken  as  an  aid  to  digestion,  the  amount  should  be  very 
small,  not  more  t'.ian  from  one  half  to  one  ounce. 

True  cream  clieese  is  made  from  whole  milk,  to  which  cream  has  been 
added;  but  what  is  ordinarily  known  as  '"cream  cheese"  is  that  made 
from  unskimmed  milk.  In  such  a  cheese,  the  proportional  amounts  of 
casein  and  fit  are  substantially  the  same  as  in  good   milk.      Skimmed 


48  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

milk  cheese  is  not  so  nutritious  and  not  so  easy  of  digestion  as  that  made 
from  whole  milk. 

Cheese  is  almost  universally  colored  with  annatto,  which,  as  it  has 
been  so  long  used  and  is  not  detrimental  to  health,  may  be  regarded  as  a 
justifiable  adulteration.  Without  it,  cheese  would  be  of  a  dingy-white 
color. 

EGGS. 

There  is  no  bird  whose  eggs  may  not  be  eaten  in  case  of  necessity. 
However,  the  eggs  of  flesh-eating  birds  are  of  strong,  unpleasant  odor. 
Practically,  our  use  of  eggs  as  food  is  confined  to  those  of  the  chicken, 
duck,  Guinea  hen,  and  goose.  The  exact  taste  of  eggs  is  influenced 
largely  by  the  food  of  the  bird.  The  nutritive  value  of  eggs  is  great,  both 
on  account  of  their  chemical  composition  and  their  flavor.  The  average 
weight  of  hens'  eggs  is  from  ij^  to  2  ounces,  the  parts  existing  in  the 
following  proportions : 

Shell, 11.5  per  cent. 

Albumen  (white), 58.5        " 

Yolk, 30.0       " 

The  white  of  the  egg  consists  of  water  and  albumen,  with  traces  of 
inorganic  salts  and  fat.  The  yolk  contains  from  30  to  32  per  cent,  of 
fat ;  so  that,  practically  speaking,  the  fat  is  confined  to  the  yolk.  There 
is  not  much  diflerence  in  the  time  required  for  the  digestion  of  a  raw  egg 
and  one  \vhich  has  its  albumen  coagulated  by  heat,  but  the  latter  is  the 
more  agreeable  in  flavor,  A  hard-boiled  egg  is  digested  with  more 
difficulty  than  one  rarely  done. 

Since  eggs  are  most  abundant  and  consequently  cheapest  during  spring 
and  summer,  their  preservation  is  of  considerable  importance.  When 
left  exposed  to  the  air,  germs  pass  through  the  shell  and  cause  decompo- 
sition. Consequently,  the  object  to  be  held  in  view  in  endeavoring  to 
preserve  them  is  to  exclude  the  air.  This  may  be  done  by  placing  them 
in  lime-water  ;  but  in  this  way  the  shells  are  made  very  brittle,  and  many 
are  broken  in  removing  them.  They  may  be  dipped  in  mucilage,  and 
then  packed  in  salt.  However,  the  most  common  method  consists  sim- 
ply in  packing  them  in  salt  alone,  or  in  salt  and  lime.  Some  dip  the 
eggs  for  a  moment  in  boiling  water,  whereb}'  the  part  of  the  white 
immediately  in  contact  with  the  shell  is  coagulated. 

Decomposed  eggs  will  float  in  brine  (made  by  dissolving  one  part  salt 
in  ten  parts  of  w^ater),  while  fresh  eggs  placed  in  the  same  solution  will 
sink. 

VEGETABLE   FOODS. 

CEREALS  AND  GRAINS. 

The  cereals  used  as  food  in  this  country  are  wheat,  rye,  oats,  corn, 
and  rice.     The  most  important  food  constituents  of  the  grains  are  starch. 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  49 

proteids  or  nitrogenous  substances,  and  the  phosphates  of  the  ash.  They 
also  contain  small  amounts  of  fat,  sugar,  gum.  and  mineral  substances 
other  than  the  phosphates. 

Of  all  the  grains,  wheat  is  considered  the  most  nutritious.  Its  exact 
composition  varies  slightly,  according  to  climate,  nature  of  the  soil,  and 
the  fertilization  employed.  Its  average  per  cent,  composition  is  given  in 
the  following  figures  : 


Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Starch. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

^3-56 

13.42 

1.70 

1.44 

64.07 

2.66 

1.79 

The  nitrogenous  substances  consist  of  vegetable  albumen,  casein,  and 
gluten.  The  last  mentioned  forms  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  nitrog- 
enous material.  The  ash  may  contain  as  much  as  45  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phoric acid,  which  is  combined  with  lime,  magnesia,  and  potash.  As  a 
rule,  the  greater  the  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  ash  of  the  wheat, 
the  greater  the  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter  in  the  grain. 

Rye  does  not  differ  greatly  in  its  composition  from  wheat,  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  figures,  which  give  the  average  of  forty-four  analyses 
collected  by  Konig : 

Water.  Proteids.  Fat.  Sugar.  Gum.  Starch.  Cellulose.  Ash. 

15.26        11-43        ^-7^        0-95        4-S8      61.99         2.01         1.77 

However,  the  gluten  of  wheat  is  superior  in  quality  to  that  of  rye.  In 
those  countries  whose  inhabitants  are  compelled  to  depend  largely  upon 
rye  bread,  there  is  much  suffering  at  times  from  poisoning  with  ergot. 
Fortunately,  this  poison  is  not  found  to  any  extent  in  wheat. 

Oat  meal,  which  has  been  used  as  a  food  in  Scotland  for  a  long  time, 
is  now  being  largely  consumed  in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  its  use  will  become  more  universal.  It  is  a  highly  nutritious,  healthy, 
and  cheap  article  of  diet.  The  average  composition  of  the  grain  is  as  fol- 
lows : 


Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Gum. 

Starch. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

12.37 

10.41 

5-23 

I.9I 

1.79 

54-08 

II. 19 

3.02 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  amount  of  fat  is  much  larger  than  in  wheat 
or  rye.  In  the  best  specimens  of  the  grain  the  fat  may  be  as  much  as  8 
per  cent. 

Corn  is  largely  used  in  some  of  the  Southern  states,  and,  in  the  various 
ways  in  which  the  people  know  so  well  how  to  prepare  it,  it  forms  a 
most  valuable  food.  The  exact  composition  varies  considerably  with  the 
variety  of  the  plant  and  the  soil  on  which  it  grows  ;  but  the  following  are 
the  average  figures  : 


Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Gum. 

Starch. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

13.13 

9.85 

4.62 

2.46 

3-38 

62.57 

2.49 

1-51 

I 


The  greater  part  of  the  nitrogenous  material  consists  of  vegetable  fibrine. 
Rice  grains  have  the  following  average  composition  : 


50  HEALTHY  FOODS. 


Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat. 

Starch. 

Gum. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

9-55 

5.87 

1.84 

73.00 

2.S5 

5.80 

1.09 

Since  the  per  cents,  of  both  proteids  and  fats  are  low.  it  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  least  nutritious  of  the  grains  here  mentioned.  However, 
its  ease  of  digestion  renders  it  valuable  to  the  sick  ;  and  the  fact  that  its 
heat- producing  power  is  not  so  great  as  the  other  grains,  adapts  it  to  the 
inhabitants  of  warm  countries. 

Barley,  which  is  so  largely  used  by  the  Scandinavians,  and  millet, 
which  is  a  staple  food  in  India  and  some  other  warm  countries,  are  so 
seldom  used  in  this  country  as  foods  that  an  extended  notice  of  them  is 
unnecessary. 

Buckwheat  does  not  belong  to  the  cereals,  but  to  a  wholly  different 
class.  However,  as  it  is  a  food  which  is  highly  prized  by  many,  it  de- 
serves mention.  The  plant  soon  reaches  maturity,  and  may  be  grown 
upon  poor,  sandy  soil,  as  well  as  upon  richer  ground.  The  average 
composition  is  shown  by  the  following  figures  : 

Water.  Proteids.  Fat.  Gum.  Starch.  Cellulose.  .Ash. 

12.63  10.19  1. 28  2. 85  69.30  1. 51  2.24 

The  albuminous  substances  found  in  buckwheat  differ  materially  from 
those  present  in  the  cereals.  Its  food  value  is  not  so  great  as  that  of 
wheat,  rye,  or  oats. 

FLOUR    AXD    MEAL. 

By  grinding,  the  grains  which  have  been  described  are  converted  into 
flour  or  meal.  By  this  process  the  food  material  is  better  fitted  for  cook- 
ing, and  is  to  some  extent  separated  from  the  indigestible  portfons.  A 
few  simple  rules  will  be  given  by  which  good  flour  or  meal  may  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  inferior  grades  : 

(i)  Good  wheat  flour  is  white,  with  only  a  faint  yellow  tint.  It  does 
not  contain  any  bluish,  grayish,  or  dark  specks.  It  feels  soft  and  dry 
to  the  finger,  and  when  some  is  pressed  in  the  closed  hand,  it  forms  a 
dry  lump,  which  breaks  down  readily  with  the  gentlest  pressure.  If  it 
fails  to  form  a  lump  when  pressed  in  the  hand,  it  contains  too  much 
bran,  or  some  mineral  adulteration  has  been  added.  When  the  finger  is 
introduced  vertically  into  good  flour,  the  depression  thus  made  remains  ; 
othei-wise,  there  is  too  much  bran  present.  The  odor  is  fresh  and  pleas- 
ant, not  musty.  Neither  with  the  unaided  eye  nor  with  a  magnifying 
glass  will  any  living  bodies  be  found  in  good  flour. 

(2)  Rve  flour  has  a  grayish  tint,  and  a  characteristic  odor  and  taste. 
The  other  general  properties  are  identical  with  those  of  wheat  flour. 

(3)  The  color  of  corn  meal  varies  with  the  variety  of  corn  from  which 
it  is  prepared.  It  should  feel  perfectly  dry  and  powdery.  It  does  not 
"lump"  when  pressed  in  the  hand,  and  it  has  a  characteristic,  pleasant 
odor.  Corn  meal,  when  decomposition  has  begun,  has  a  rancid  odor, 
and  if  some  of  it  be  placed  upon  a  piece  of  moistened  blue  litmus  paper 
(which  can  be  obtained  at  any  drug  store),  the  color  of  the  paper  will  be 


HEALTHY  FOODS,  5  I 

changed  to  red.  Good  meal  has  no  effect  on  the  color  of  the  litmus 
paper. 

(4)   Oat  meal  should  be  dry,  and  free  from  any  disagreeable  odor. 

The  Care  of  Meal  a7id  Plour.  When  exposed  to  the  air,  flour  and 
meal  absorb  water,  and  this  greatly  increases  their  tendency  to  decom- 
pose. In  moist  flour  the  lower  forms  of  life  are  likely  to  develop.  Foi 
these  reasons  these  preparations  should  be  kept  in  well  closed  recep- 
tacles. 

AduUeration.  Fortunately,  these  foods  are  very  rarely  adulterated  in 
this  countrv.  Since  wires  have  been  used  so  extensively  for  binding  in 
the  great  wheat  flelds  of  the  North-west,  a  small  amount  of  iron  is  found 
in  flour,  as  an  accidental  adulteration.  It  is  frequently  stated  that  gyp- 
sum and  other  mineral  substances  are  added  to  flour,  but  the  writer  has 
examined  many  hundred  samples,  and  has  never  detected  such  an  adul- 
teration. It  has  also  been  stated  that  the  so-called  ''patent  flour"  contains 
alum.  This  is  certainly  false.  One  of  the  writer's  students  examined 
twenty-three  samples  of  "  patent  flour"  obtained  at  different  places,  and 
failed  to  find  any  alum  present.  It  maybe  possible  that  in  some  instances 
the  cheaper  flours  or  meals  are  added  to  wheat  flour  ;  but  even  this  fraud, 
if  practised  at  all  in  this  country,  is  carried  on  to  a  very  limited  extent. 
The  great  abundance  and  low  price  of  wheat  would  tend  to  make  any 
adulteration  profitless. 

BREAD. 

The  cooking  of  his  food  is  one  of  the  earliest  evidences  of  man's  civil- 
ization, and  with  no  other  food  has  the  process  of  cooking  been  so  thor- 
oughly developed  as  with  the  products  obtained  from  the  edible  grains. 
The  essential  constituents  of  bread  are  flour,  water,  and  salt.  To  these 
have  been  added,  for  the  purpose  of  varying  and  improving  the  taste,  one 
or  more  of  the  following  substances  :  Milk,  sugar,  eggs,  fats,  etherial 
oils,  and  fruits.  Civilized  man,  in  even-  part  of  the  world,  employs 
some  means  of  raising  or  leavening  his  bread.  By  this  the  taste  is  im- 
proved, and  the  crumb,  being  divided  by  the  evolved  gas,  is  more  readily 
acted  upon  hv  the  digestive  juices.  The  methods  of  raising  bread  are  as 
follows  : 

(i)  By  tJie  Groxvth  of  Teast.  Yeast  consists  of  microscopic  vegeta- 
ble organisms,  which,  when  placed  in  a  suitable  medium,  grow  rapidly, 
j.Moducing  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid  gas.  The  evolved  gas,. in  attempt- 
ing to  rise,  becomes  entangled  in  tlie  meshes  of  the  dough,  distending  it 
and  making  it  light.  After  the  dough  has  risen  suflliciently,  it  is  placed 
in  a  hot  oven  to  bake.  The  heat  destroys  the  yeast  plant,  and  thus  pre- 
vents furtlier  fermentation.  If  the  growth  of  the  yeast  be  allowed  to  con- 
tinue for  too  long  a  time,  acetic,  lactic,  and  butyric  acids  are  formed,  and 
such  dough  makes  "  .sour  bread." 

(2)  By  Baking-  Powders.  In  the  use  of  leaking  powders,  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  necessarv  to  render  the  dough  light,  is  generated  by 
chemical  means.     Baking  powders   consist  of  some  alkaline  carbonate, 


52  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

as  sodium  bicarbonate,  and  some  acid  substance,  such  as  the  acid  tar- 
trate of  potash  (cream  of  tartar),  together  with  a  small  amount  of  starch 
to  keep  the  mixture  dry.  As  long  as  the  powder  is  perfectly  dry  no 
reaction  occurs,  but  when  it  is  dissolved  in  water  in  the  dough,  the  acid 
acts  upon  the  carbonate,  liberating  carbonic  acid,  which  has  the  same 
effect  in  raising  the  dough  as  when  it  is  produced  by  the  growth  of  the 
yeast  plant. 

In  baking  powders,  ammonium  carbonate  is  sometimes  used  instead 
of  sodium  bicarbonate  ;  and  the  acid  tartrate  may  be  replaced  by  the  acid 
phosphate  of  lime.  But  the  use  of  alum  in  baking  powders  is  an  adul- 
teration which  is  injurious  to  health.  It  unites  with  the  phosphates  in 
the  bread,  rendering  them  insoluble,  and  preventing  their  digestion  and 
absorption.  In  this  way  alum,  when  present,  diminishes  the  nutritive 
value  of  bread. 

A  small  amount  of  starch  in  baking  powders  is  necessary  to' keep  them 
dry,  but  too  often  the  manufacturer  adds  as  much  starch  as  possible, 
and  this  should  be  considered  as  an  adulteration. 

(j)  By  Aeration.  In  some  large  bakeries  carbonic  acid  gas,  gener- 
ated by  the  action  of  some  acid  on  carbonate  of  lime,  is  forced  under  pres- 
sure into  the  dough,  thus  distending  the  mass  ;  or  the  dough  is  kneaded 
with  water  which  has  been  saturated  with  carbonic  acid  under  pressure. 
When  the  gas  is  washed  before  being  forced  into  the  dough  or  water,  this 
method  is  a  very  desirable  one.  But  the  cost  and  care  of  the  special 
apparatus  iiecessary  will  prevent  the  adoption  of  this  method  of  raising 
bread,  except  in  large  bakeries  and  hotels. 

General  Properties  of  Good  Bread.  The  general  statements  con- 
cerning bread  i^efer  to  that  made  from  wheat  flour.  Good  bread  has  a 
thick,  fragile  crust,  which  is  not  burnt,  and  which  forms  from  25  to  30 
per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  loaf.  The  crumb  is  white,  and  filled  ^vith 
cavities,  the  partitions  between  which  are  easily  broken  down.  These 
cavities  should  be  distributed  through  ever}'  part  of  the  crumb  ;  other- 
wise, the  bread  is  sodden  and  heavy,  and  decomposes  quickly.  The 
bread  should  be  of  a  pleasant  odor  and  taste.  If  tlie  bread  is  acid,  it  was 
probably  made  from  inferior  flour. 

Changes  on  Standing.  On  standing,  bread  gradually  loses  weight, 
by  the  evaporation  of  a  part  of  its  contained  water,  and  becomes  hard. 
The  amount  of  water  given  oft'  in  a  certain  time  will  depend  vipon  the 
size  of  the  loaf  and  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  crust.  Bread  should  not 
lose  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  its  original  weight  after  four  days.  Stale 
bread  when  dipped  in  water  and  rebaked,  or  when  steamed,  becomes 
palatable,  but  never  completely  regains  the  properties  of  fresh  bread.  In 
stale  bread,  small  living  organisms  are  likel)'  to  develop.  Some  of  them 
are  poisonous.  Tlie  white  and  orange-yellow  moulds  which  form  on  stale 
bread  are  due  to  a  poisonous  growth.  Sometimes  blood-red  spots  appear 
in  bread.     These  also  are  due  to  a  microscopic  growth. 

Adulterations  of  Bread.  Bread  is  not  adulterated  to  any  great  extent 
in  this  country.     The  baker's  loaf  is  usually  of  light  weight.     An  excess 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  53 

of  water  is  often  incorporated  with  the  dough.  This  makes  the  bread 
sodden  and  heavy,  and  increases  its  liabihty  to  decompose.  In  some  of 
the  hirger  cities,  mashed  potato  has  been  found  worked  into  bread.  This 
lowers  the  nutritive  value  of  the  article  greatly.  Alum  is  sometimes 
added  directly  to  flour  or  dough,  and  is  sometimes  contained  in  the  bak- 
ing powder,  as  has  been  stated. 

The  Food  Value  of  Bread.  As  has  been  remarked,  the  most  impor- 
tant food  constituents  of  the  grains,  and  consequently  of  bread,  are  the 
proteids,  staixhes,  and  ash.  The  amount  of  nitrogenous  matter  is  too 
small  for  a  perfect  food,  and  for  this  reason  bread  is  often  taken  with 
some  other  food  richer  in  nitrogen,  such  as  meat.  Bread  is  also  defi- 
cient in  fat,  and  man  instinctively  takes  some  kind  of  fat,  such  as  butter 
or  bacon,  along  with  his  bread.  Notwithstanding  these  imperfections, 
bread  is  a  food  of  which  we  never  tire,  and  the  various  ways  in  which  it 
is  prepared  aid  in  sharpening  the  appetite.  Besides,  while  some  impor- 
tant food  substances  are  hot  abundant  in  bread,  all  are  present  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent ;  and  with  the  addition  of  a  little  more  nitrogen  in  the  shape 
of  meat  and  fat,  as  butter  or  bacon,  a  perfect  diet  is  secured. 

PEASE    AND    BEANS. 

Pease  and  beans  belong  to  the  leguminous  seeds.  They  contain  more 
nitrogenous  matter  or  proteids  than  any  other  vegetable  food.  Not  only 
is  the  amount  of  proteid  greater  than  in  wheat  and  other  grains,  but  it  is 
different  in  its  properties.  That  of  the  grains  is  principally  gluten,  while 
that  of  pease  and  beans  belong  to  the  casein  group.  The  former  is  more 
easily  digested  than  the  latter,  pease  and  beans  often  causing  disturbances 
in  the  stomach  and  bowels.  The  avei-age  composition  of  these  foods  is 
shown  by  the  following  figfui'es  : 


PEASE. 

Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat.                     Starch. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

14.99 

24.04 

i.6r             49.01 

BEANS. 

7.09 

3.26. 

Water. 

Proteids. 

Fat.                      Starch. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

14.76 

24.27 

1. 61                    49.01 

7.09 

3.26 

There  is  great  diflerence  between  the  digestibility  in  these  substances 
in  the  green  and  in  the  dried  state.  Soft  green  pease  tax  the  stomach 
but  slightly.  Dried  pease  and  beans  must  be  boiled  slowly  and  for  a 
long  time  ;  and  if  they  are  very  old,  they  should  be  soaked  for  several 
hours,  and  then  crushed  before  they  are  cooked.  Hard  water  is  to  be 
avoided  in  cooking  them,  as  the  lime  of  the  water  forms  an  insoluble 
compound  \vith  the  albuminous  constituents  of  the  seeds. 

Ground  pease  and  beans  are  used  to  some  extent  in  this  country.  They 
form  a  part  of  some  food  preparations,  such  as  pea-sausage  (erbswiirste 
of  the  Germans) . 


5  4  ffE.A  L  Til  Y  FO  ODS. 

Food  Value  of  Pease  and  Beatis.  The  nutritive  value  of  the  seeds 
is  considerahle.  but  on  account  of  the  tax  which  they  impose  upon  the 
digestive  organs,  they  cannot  be  taken  in  large  quantities.  The  deficiency 
of  fat  is  usually  supplied  by  serving  these  foods  with  bacon  or  other  fatty 
food. 

POTATOES. 

Potatoes  contain  only  about  25  per  cent,  of  solids,  four  and  five-tenths 
of  which  is  starch.  The  per  cent,  of  nitrogenous  matter  and  fat  is  small 
as  shown  bv  the  following  figures,  which  give  the  average  per  cent,  com- 
position of  potatoes  : 

Water.  Proceids.  Fat.  Starch.  Cellulose.  As-^. 

75.77  1.79  0.16  20.56  0.75  0.97 

Notwithstanding  its  comparatively  small  per  cent,  of  solids,  the  potato 
will  continue  to  be  one  of  the  most  ^•aluable  foods.  Its  growth  is  not 
influenced  bv  soil  and  climate  to  such  an  extent  as  that  of  the  cereals. 
The  yield  of  the  potato  per  acre  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  vegeta- 
ble. It  is  preserved  with  ease  for  winter's  use.  and  the  raw  material  is 
fitted  for  the  table  with  but  little  trouble  and  expense.  It  can  be  served 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  and  with  other  foods.  Its  deficiency  in  nitrog- 
enous matter  and  fat  is  made  up  by  cooking  it  with  meat.  It  is  agreea- 
ble to  the  taste,  and  easv  of  digestion.  New  potatoes  are  said  to  be 
waxy,  and  not  so  easilv  digested  as  old,  mealv  ones.  In  order  to  retain 
the  salts,  potatoes  should  be  cooked  with  their  skins  on.  If  boiled,  they 
should  at  once  be  placed  in  hot  water.  If  baked,  the  oven  must  be  mod- 
erately hot. 

Potatoes  should  be  of  fair  size,  firm,  and  free  from  mould.  The  sweet 
potato  is  similar  in  composition  to  the  ordinary  potato,  and  furnishes  an 
agreeable  substitute  :  but  it  is  more  expensive,  and  cannot  be  presei'ved 
so  easily 

OTHER    VEGETABLES. 

The  other  succulent  vegetables  which  are  used  as  foods  are  principally 
useful  on  account  of  furnishing  variety,  and  for  the  acid  salts  which  they 
contain,  and  whose  use  renders  other  foods  more  digestible,  and  prevents 
scurvy  and  kindred  affections. 

The  beet  root  is  not  onlv  a  pleasant  food,  but  furnishes  as  much  as  10 
per  cent,  of  sugar,  for  which  it  is  now  lai'gely  grown  ;  though  the  differ- 
ent varieties  of  the  root  vary  considerably  in  the  amount  of  sugar  which 
they  contain. 

Turnips,  carrots,  and  parsnips  contain  from  82  to  90  per  cent,  of  water, 
from  5  to  10  per  cent,  of  starch,  from  2  to  6  per  cent,  of  sugar,  about  i 
per  cent,  each  of  nitrogenous  matter  and  salts,  and  J  per  cent,  or  less  of 
fat. 

Cabbage,  turnip   tops,    spinach,  water-cresses,   dandelion,  and    other 

greens"  should  always  be  thoroughly  cooked.  The  amount  of  absorb- 
able food  which  they  contain  is  generally  less  than  5  per  cent. 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  55 

The  tomato,  either  raw  or  cooked,  furnishes  an  agreeable  sauce.  It  is 
also  used  for  making  soup  and  for  flavoring  meat  soups.  It  contains  over 
()Z  per  cent,  of  water, »less  than  3  per  cent,  of  starch,  and  about  2|-  per 
cent,  of  sugar. 

Rhubarb  is  a  pleasant,  acid  vegetable,  which  is  especially  serviceable 
on  account  of  its  being  one  of  the  earliest  of  spring  plants. 

Pumpkins  and  squash  contain  from  i  to  5  per  cent,  of  starch,  about  i 
per  cent,  of  sugar,  and  less  than  i  per  cent,  each  of  nitrogenous  matter, 
fat,  and  ash. 

Thoroughly  ripe  melons  are  beneficial  in  season  on  account  of  their 
action  upon  the  kidneys.  They  should  never  be  eaten,  however,  unless 
they  are  thoroughly  ripe  and  of  good  quality. 

STARCHES. 

The  food  value  of  the  starches  is  small,  but  they  are  easv  of  digestion, 
and  are  serviceable  in  preparing  dishes  for  the  sick.  Besides,  when  mixed 
with  nitrogenous  and  fatty  substances,  they  are  largely  used  in  making 
puddings.  In  this  wav,  stale  bread  and  other  remnants  from  the  table 
may  be  converted  into  palatable  dishes. 

Sago  and  arrow-root  are  obtained  from  various  palms.  The  former 
appears  in  small  granular  masses,  which,  when  drv,  are  so  hard  that  they 
can  scarcely  be  crushed  by  the  teeth  ;  but  they  readily  absorb  water,  and 
soften. 

Arrow-root,  when  pure,  is  found  in  perfectly  white  lumps,  which  may 
readily  be  crushed  between  the  fingers.  When  boiled  with  water  and 
constantly  stirred,  no  foam  should  form  on  the  surface.  The  presence  of 
a  foam  indicates  that  the  arrow-root  has  been  adulterated  with  flour. 

Tapioca,  obtained  from  various  tropical  plants,  and  corn  and  potato 
starches,  are  also  used  in  puddings. 

SUGARS. 

Sugar  is  a  name  now  given  to  a  class  of  substances  which  vary  among 
themselves  to  some  extent  both  in  physical  and  chemical  properties, 
though  ordinarily  tlie  term  "  sugar"  is  supposed  to  refer  to  that  obtained 
from  the  sugar-cane  and  sugar  beet.  Practically  there  are  now  in  the 
trade  three  kinds  of  sugar, — cane  sugar  (obtained  from  the  cane  and 
beet),  glucose  or  grape  sugar  (obtained  bv  the  action  of  dilute  acids  on 
starch),  and  "mixed  sugars,"  or  "new-process  sugars"  (consisting  of 
cane  and  grape  sugar  mixed  in  various  proportions).  Cane  sugar  is 
here  referred  to,  unless  some  other  is  .specifically  mentioned. 

Sugar  is  used  for  modifying  the  taste  of  other  foods,  and  for  the  manu- 
facture of  confectionery  and  syrups.  By  improving  the  taste,  sugar, 
when  added  in  proper  amounts,  aids  the  digestion  of  other  substances, 
and  furnishes  a  certain  amount  of  nutriment  in  itself. 

Good,   crystalline,   white  sugar  contains   less   thiWi  one  half  of  i   per 


56  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

cent,  of  water,  and  not  more  than  this  amount  of  ash.  Yellow  sugar 
may  contain  as  much  as  2  per  cent,  of  water. 

Grape  sugar  may  contain  from  lo  to  25  per  cent,  of  water,  and  from 
one  half  to  2  per  cent,  of  ash. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  adulteration  of  sugar  with  glucose.  That 
this  has  been  practised  to  a  considerable  extent  is  shown  by  numerous 
analyses.  Indeed,  "■  mixed  sugars"  are  sold  by  wholesale  dealers,  and 
too  frequently  the  retail  grocery-man  sells  these  to  his  customers  as 
straight  cane  sugars. 

Experts  can  recognize  these  sugars  by  the  wa}'^  they  "  handle."  "  They 
are  apt  to  cake  and  harden,  and  stick  to  the  scoop  and  sides  of  the  barrel. 
In  the  white,  granulated  sugars,  the  mixture  of  the  white  lumps  of  glu- 
cose with  the  crystalline  cane  sugar  can  be  readily  seen  ;  but  in  the  brown 
sugars  it  is  difficult  to  detect  the  fraud  by  the  appearance  of  the  sugar. 
When  a  mixed  sugar  is  shaken  with  cold  water,  the  white  lumps  of  the 
glucose  will  remain  undissolved  for  some  time  after  all  the  cane-sugar  has 
passed  into  solution." 

Glucose,  when  made  with  care, — and  it  must  be  so  made  when  it  is  used 
to  adulterate  sugar, — is  not  harmful  to  health.  The  fraud  is  a  pecuniary 
one,  as  glucose  costs  usually  less  than  two  cents  per  pound  ;  but  when 
mixed  with  sugar,  it  is  sold  for  six  cents  and  more  per  pound.  The 
sweetening  properties  of  glucose  are  not  so  great  as  those  of  cane  sugar, 
and  consequently,  in  the  preparation  of  foods,  much  more  of  the  mixed 
sugar  is  required  than  would  be  necessary  with  cane  sugar. 

Confectionery.  The  various  candies  are  made  from  sugar,  or  sugar 
and  starch,  with  or  without  coloring  matters.  Twenty-seven  samples 
were  examined  under  the  writer's  direction,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether 
or  not  they  contained  any  poisonous  substance.  One  sample  consisted 
wholly  of  starch,  terra  alba,  and  an  analine  color,  without  any  sugar. 
The  use  of  terra  alba  (white  earth,  or  clay)  in  any  considerable  amount 
would  be  harmful  on  account  of  its  indigestibility.  Only  two  samples 
contained  ultra  marine  as  a  coloring  agent.  This  would  also  be  harmful 
if  used  in  large  quantity.  The  other  samples  were  all  free  from  any  sus- 
picious ingredient.  The  coloring  agent  most  frequently  used  is  analine. 
Grape  sugar  is  extensively  employed  in  the  manufactui'e  of  confectionery. 

Honey.  This  is  frequently  adulterated  with  glucose,  which  may  be 
added  directly  to  strained  honey,  or  may  be  fed  to  the  bees,  and  by  them 
deposited  in  the  comb.  Unadulterated  honey  varies  in  flavor  according 
to  the  plant  from  which  it  is  gathered.  White  clover  and  buckwheat 
honeys  are  much  prized  in  this  country.  The  fact  that  honey  sometimes 
produces  unpleasant  symptoms  is  probably  due  to  bees  feeding  upon 
poisonous  flowers,  though  the  susceptibility  of  the  individual  partaking 
of  it  probably  plays  an  important  part.  Pollen  grains  are  often  mixed 
with  honey,  and  the  unpleasant  effects  upon  the  system  may  be,  in  part 
at  least,  due  to  these. 

Molasses  and  Syrups.  These  are  solutions  of  sugar,  and  they  are  now 
frequently  made  by  a  mixture  of  cane  syrup  and  glucose.     Indeed,  many 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  5/ 

prefer  a  syrup  containing  glucose  :  it  is  not  so  sweet  as  a  pure  cane-sugar 
molasses.  However,  the  former  should  be  much  cheaper  than  the  latter. 
As  in  the  case  of  sugar,  the  fraud  here  practised  is  a  pecuniary  one  rather 
than  one  detrimental  to  health. 


FRUITS. 

Fruits  abound  in  tropical  and  temperate  climates,  and  furnish  a  great 
variety  of  flavors,  which  are  useful  in  themselves  and  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  other  foods  more  enjoyable.  The  real  food  value  of  fruits, 
judged  by  their  chemical  composition,  is  small,  but  when  thoroughly 
ripe  and  well  preserved,  they  act  beneficially  upon  the  system,  improv- 
ing the  appetite,  and  maintaining  a  healthy  condition  of  the  various  vital 
organs.  Probably  no  fruit  is  necessary  to  life,  and  fruits  may  be  regarded 
as  luxuries  ;  but  man's  instinct  and  cravings  prompt  him  to  obtain  them 
often,  even  when  their  cost  is  considerable.  Undoubtedly  they  are  most 
highly  prized  by  the  inhabitants  of  warm  countries,  where  foods  which 
produce  but  little  heat  are  most  desirable.  The  most  enjoyable  part  of 
fruits  is  their  juice,  which  consists  principally  of  watery  solutions  of 
sugar  and  acids.  The  amount  of  sugar  in  fruits  varies  from  i  to  i8  per 
cent.  The  cellular  parts  are  not  easily  digested  ;  and  those  fruits  are 
prized  most  highly  which  have  the  greatest  quantity  of  juice  with  the 
smallest  proportion  of  cell  structure. 

The  majority  of  fruits  may  be  eaten  either  raw  or  cooked,  and  those 
which  cannot  be  preserved  in  their  natural  condition  may  be  dried. 
Therefore,  in  one  or  the  other  form,  they  may  be  enjoyed  at  any  season 
of  the  year,  and  may  be  served  with  other  foods. 

The  volatile  ethers,  upon  which  the  flavor  of  many  fruits  depends,  have 
been  made  artificially  b}-  the  chemist,  and,  under  the  name  of  essences, 
are  largely  used  in  cooking. 

It  is  \vholIy  unnecessary  even  to  mention  the  various  fruits  in  use,  as 
all  are  sufiiciently  acquainted  with  their  general  properties  and  composi- 
tion. Suffice  it  to  say,  that  thoroughly  ripe  fruit,  taken  in  moderation, 
can  have  no  deleterious  effect  upon  the  system.  However,  care  should 
be  exercised  in  using  fruits  imported  from  countries  in  which  an  infec- 
tious disease,  such  as  cholera,  prevails.  Such  fruit  should  at  least  be 
thoroughly  washed,  or  stripped  of  its  covering,  and,  if  suitable  for  such 
purpose,  should  be  cooked. 

Canned  Fj-uits.  In  buying  canned  fruits,  it  should  be  observed  that 
the  ends  of  the  cans  are  concave.  If  convex,  there  has  probablv  been 
some  decomposition  of  the  contents  with  the  evolution  of  gas.  Cases  of 
severe  poisoning  have  followed  the  eating  of  partiallv  decomposed  canned 
fruits.  Moreover,  if  the  cans  appear  old  and  battered,  thus  giving  evi- 
dence of  having  been  used  twice  or  oftener  for  the  purpose  of  preserving 
fruit,  they  should  be  rejected,  since  the  contents  of  such  cans  are  liable  to 
contain  small  amoimts  of  tin  or  other  metal,  which  may  prove  poisonous. 
Much  having  been  said  about  the  use  of  salicylic  acid,  in  canned  fruits, 


58  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

as  a  preservative  agent,  the  writer  requested  one  of  his  students  to  examine 
samjDles  from  all  the  more  prominent  firms  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
canned  foods,  for  this  adulteration.  In  no  case  was  the  acid  found.  Fre- 
quently agents  pass  through  the  countr)-,  offering  to  sell  preparations  or 
recipes  for  the  sure  preservation  of  fruit.  The  active  ingredient  of  all 
these  formulas  is  salicylic  acid  or  some  form  of  sulphurous  acid.  The 
use  of  such  preservatives  is  unnecessary.  Moreover,  they  injure  the  taste 
of  the  fruit,  and  are  liable  to  prove  deleterious  to  the  health  of  the  con- 
sumer. 

Prof.  Sharpless  states  that  "  apple-sauce"  is  frequently  pumpkin  boiled 
with  cider  ;  that  the  raspberry-jam  ofiered  for  sale  is  often  sour  ;  and  that 
strawberry -jam  is  frequently  made  from  the  refuse  strawberries  of  the 
market. 

XUTS. 

Judging  solely  b}-  chemical  composition,  nuts  should  be  classed  among 
the  most  nutritious  foods.  The  following  figures  give  the  percentage 
composition  of  sweet  almonds,  walnuts,  and  hazelnuts,  from  numerous 
analyses  collected  by  Konig  : 

Water. 

Almonds, 5.39 

Walnuts, 4.68 

Hazelnuts, 3-77 

But  nuts  are  not  easily  digested,  and,  with  the  exception  of  cocoa-nuts, 
do  not  form  an  important  part  of  the  food  of  any  people.  They  may  be 
regarded  simply  as  luxuries,  so  far  as  their  use  in  this  country  is  con- 
cerned. Crushed  acorns  are  used  to  some  extent  in  the  adulteration  of 
ground  coflee. 

VEGETABLE  OILS. 

On  account  of  our  abundant  supply  of  animal  fats,  the  vegetable  oils 
are  not  extensively  used  as  foods  in  this  country.  The  one  best  known  is 
olive  oil.  which  is  used  as  a  dressing  for  other  foods.  Olive  oil,  how- 
ever, has  been  largely  adulterated,  or  supplanted,  by  cotton-seed  oil, 
large  quantities  of  which  are  sold  as  olive  oil. 

CONDIMENTS. 

Condiments  are  substances  whose  employment  in  cooking  is  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  seasoning  foods.  However,  at  least  one  member  of  this 
class, — common  salt, — is  essential  to  healthy  existence.  Condiments  im- 
prove the  taste  of  foods,  sharpen  the  appetite,  and  improve  digestion. 
While  much  benefit  arises  from  this  use  in  small  amounts,  when  taken  in 
excess  they  may  prove  highly  detrimental  to  health. 

It  is  stated  that  certain  tribes  in  the  interior  of  Africa  exchange  gold 
for  salt,  ounce  for  ounce.  This  illustrates  the  great  need  of  this  sub- 
stance felt  by  the  animal  system.     We  know  that  wild  animals  some- 


Starch  and 

Proteids. 

Fat. 

Sugar. 

Cellulose. 

Ash. 

24.18 

53-68 

7-23 

6.56 

2.96 

16.37 

62.86 

7.89 

6.17 

2.03 

15.62 

66.47 

9-03 

^.28 

1.83 

HEALTHY  FOODS.  59 

times  travel  hundreds  of  miles  in  search  of  salt-licks.  Experiments  have 
been  made,  in  which  two  oxen  were  placed  under  exactly  the  same  con- 
ditions, and  furnished  with  the  same  food,  save  that  salt  was  denied  one, 
and  given  to  the  other.  The  one  deprived  of  salt  did  not  thrive  as  did 
the  other. 

The  puritv  of  salt  is  judged  of  l>y  its  whiteness,  fineness,  dryness,  and 
perfect  solubility  in  water.  The  coarser  kinds  of  salt  contain  compounds 
of  lime  and  magnesium,  are  often  dark  in  color,  and  absorb  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere. 

Vinegar  is  an  acid  fluid,  wliich  may  be  produced  by  the  fermentation 
of  anv  solution  containing  sugar.  Cider  and  wine  vinegars  are  most 
highly  prized,  though  the  following  varieties  are  now  sold  in  this  country  : 

( 1 )  Cider  vinegar,  from  apples  and  pears. 

(2)  Wine  vinegar,  from  grape  juice  and  inferior  wines. 

(3)  Malt  vinegar,  from  barley. 

(4)  Beer  vinegar,  from  sour  ale  or  beer. 

(5)  Glucose  vinegar,  from  grape  sugar. 

(6)  Crab  vinegar,  from  crab-apples. 

(7)  Artificial  vinegar,  made  with  dilute  solutions  of  the  mineral  acids, 
especially  sulphuric  acid. 

The  aciditv  of  vinegar  is  nominally  due  to  acetic  acid.  Sulphuric  acid 
is  sometimes  added  to  increase  the  acidity.  The  British  law  allows  this 
adulteration  to  the  extent  of  one  tenth  of  one  per  cent.  ;  but  if  the  vinegar 
be  properly  prepared,  such  an  addition  is  not  necessary  ;  and  if  any 
addition  be  allowed,  the  amount  is  likely  to  exceed  that  given  above. 
Burnt  sugar  is  sometimes  added  to  vinegar  to  give  it  color. 

The  per  cent,  of  acetic  acid  should  be  at  least  3.  Of  five  samples 
recently  examined,  the  smallest  per  cent,  was  3.2.  and  the  greatest,  6.7. 
Only  minute  traces  of  mineral  acids  were  found  in  three  of  these  sam- 
ples, while  the  other  two  were  wholly  free  from  such  adulteration. 

Table  mustards  are  frequently  diluted  with  tumeric,  flour,  or  yellow 
lakes.  Pepper  is  sometimes  mixed  with  flour,  bread,  or  starch.  Spices 
are  frequently  adulterated  with  flour,  starch,  bread,  and  ground  pea-nut 
shells.  Cloves  may  contain  arrow-root.  In  order  to  obtain  spices  pure, 
they  should  be  purchased  unground. 


Tea  is  the  most  extensively  used  and  the  least  harmful  of  all  beverages. 
Upon  most  persons  it  produces  agreeable  sensations;  "it  cheers,  but 
does  not  inebriate."  It  relieves,  to  a  certain  extent  at  least,  the  feeling 
of  bodily  weariness,  quickens  the  pulse,  and  deepens  the  respiration. 
Upon  the  nervous  system  it  acts  as  a  stimulant,  and  the  excitation  is  not, 
as  in  the  case  of  alcoholic  drinks,  followed  by  depression.  Considerable 
discussion  has  been  carried  on  over  the  question  whether  or  not  its  use 
increases  waste  of  tissue.  This  may  now  be  considered  as  settled  in  the 
affirmative.     Dr.  E.  Smith  and  others  have  repeatedly  shown  that  the 


60  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

amount  of  waste  matter  in  the  air  exhaled  from  the  lungs  is  markedly 
increased.  Tea,  then,  acts  as  a  food  principally  by  hastening  the  oxida- 
tion or  burning  of  other  substances  in  the  body. 

It  creates  a  blast  which  burns  u})  the  half  charred  debris  oi  \\\e.  system, 
and  from  the  burning  or  oxidation  we  receive  increased  energy.  From 
what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  evident  that  the  only  time  when  tea  should 
be  used  is  late  in  the  day,  after  the  heaviest  meals  have  been  taken.  For 
the  weak  and  debilitated  it  is  not  suitable,  or  should  be  used  very  spar- 
ingly.    Its  tendency  to  produce  sleeplessness  may  also  restrict  its  use. 

So  far  as  its  chemical  composition  is  concerned,  tea  contains  but  little 
of  nutritive  value.  The  high  place  of  tea  among  foods  is  solely  due  to  its 
effect  upon  the  nervous  system. 

In  the  market  there  are  two  kinds  of  tea, — green  and  black.  Until 
recently  it  was  supposed  that  these  were  products  of  different  species,  or 
at  least  of  varieties,  of  the  tea  plant ;  but  it  is  now  known  that  the  two 
kinds  arise  from  different  methods  of  curing  the  leaves.  In  pi'eparing 
green  tea,  the  leaves  are  dried  immediately  ;  while  in  the  other,  the  leaves 
are  thrown  into  heaps,  and  a  certain  degree  of  fermentation  or  decompo- 
sition is  allowed  to  take  place  before  the  drying  is  perfected. 

The  chief  constituents  of  tea  are  its  pctive  principle  called  theine,  which 
is  identical  with  the  active  princ-ple  of  coffee,  a  volatile  oil,  tannic  acid, 
and  a  small  amount  of  ordinary  food  substances. 

Theine  forms  from  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  tea.  In  making  tea,  as  is  ordina- 
rily done,  the  greater  part  of  the  theine  is  dissolved  out  of  the  leaves, — 
tea  yielding  its  active  principle  to  water  more  readily  than  coffee.  From 
equal  weights,  three  times  as  much  theine  is  obtained  from  tea  as  from 
coffee.  According  to  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Fellows,  224  five-ounce 
cups  of  tea  beverage  are  made  from  one  pound  of  tea,  and  45  eight-ounce 
cups  from  a  pound  of  coffee.  This  makes  the  cost  of  an  ordinary  cup  of 
tea,  when  the  leaf  sells  at  75  cents  per  pound,  about  one  third  of  a  cent ; 
and  of  a  cup  of  coflee,  when  the  berry  sells  at  27  cents  per  pound,  about 
three  fifths  of  a  cent.  In  this  estimation  the  sugar  and  milk  added  to 
these  beverages  are  not  considered. 

The  volatile  oil  of  tea  is  the  special  stimulant,  and  the  market  value  of 
a  tea  depends  more  upon  this  than  any  other  constituent.  The  amount 
and  quality  of  this  substance  present  are  judged  by  the  odor  as  well  as  by 
the  taste  of  the  hot  beverage.  Large  tea  houses  have  experts  who  are 
called  "  tea-tasters,"  and  whose  duties  consist  of  deciding  as  to  the  value 
of  different  samples  by  the  odor  and  taste.  By  virtue  of  the  volatile  oil, 
tea  increases  the  flow  of  perspiration,  and  thus,  although  taken  hot,  may 
act  as  a  cooling  agent.  The  volatile  oil  is  more  abundant  in  green  than 
in  black  tea. 

Tannin  is  also  more  abundant  in  green  than  in  black  tea.  The  object 
in  making  tea  should  be  to  dissolve  as  little  of  the  tannin  as  possible,  and 
at  the  same  time  extract  as  much  as  possible  of  the  theine  and  volatile  oil. 
To  accomplish  this,  tea  should  be  steeped  five  or  ten  minutes,  by  no 
means  longer  than  ten  minutes  ;  but  the  water  should  be  kept  warm  after 


HEALTHY  FOODS.  6 1 

that  until  the  beverage  is  drawn  for  drinkinL,^  Mr.  Fellows  found  the 
amount  of  tannin  extracted  from  the  best  Japan  tea,  after  steeping  for 
five  minutes,  to  be  o.io  per  cent.  ;  after  ten  minutes,  0.98  per  cent.  ; 
after  thirty  minutes,  3.09  per  cent.  It  is  to  the  tannin  that  the  astringent 
properties  of  tea  are  due,  and  when  tea  has  been  boiled,  it  is  so  astrin- 
gent that  it  is  well-nigh  unfit  for  use,  and  indeed  may  cause  derangements 
of  the  digestive  organs. 

Tea  contains  small  amounts  of  albuminous  and  starchy  substances,  but, 
as  has  been  stated,  these  are  present  in  such  small  amounts  that  they  are 
not  worthy  of  consideration. 

Tea  is  subject  to  the  following  adulterations,  which,  fortunately,  are 
not  largely  used  at  present : 

(i)  '*  Spent"  leaves,  those  which  have  been  once  used  for  making  tea, 
are  dried,  and  mixed  with  fresh  leaves.  This  adulteration  is  not  practised 
extensively  in  this  country. 

(2)  The  poorer  varieties  are  mixed  with  the  better,  and  the  whole  sold 
as  of  first  quality. 

(3)  Green  tea  is  sometime  tinted  with  indigo  and  gypsum  Prussian 
blue  is  said  also  to  be  used,  but  the  writer  has  failed  to  detect  it  after  ex- 
amining many  samples.  Black  tea  is  also  tinted  with  graphite.  This  is 
not  used  in  large  amounts,  and,  as  used,  is  not  detrimental  to  health,  but 
is  a  pecuniary  fraud. 

(4)  Other  leaves,  notably  those  of  the  willow,  elder,  and  beech,  are 
added  to  the  tea  leaves.  None  of  these  are  exactly  like  the  tea  leaf,  and 
the  adulteration  may  be  detected  by  close  inspection,  even  without  a 
microscope.  The  border  of  the  tea  leaf  is  serrated  nearly,  but  not  quite, 
to  the  stalk.  The  primary  veins  run  from  the  midrib  nearly  to  the  bor- 
der, and  turn  in  so  that  there  is  a  distinct  space  left  between  their  termi- 
nations and  the  border. 

Tea  dust,  which  consists  of  broken  leaves  and  sweepings  of  tea  storage 
houses,  is  a  legitimate  article  of  commerce,  yielding  an  average  of  1.27 
per  cent,  of  theine. 


It  is  unnecessary  to  go  into  detail  concerning  coflee,  since  it  resembles 
tea  in  so  many  of  its  jDroperties.  The  active  principle  of  coflee,  called 
cafleine,  is  identical  in  chemical  composition  and  phvsiological  eftccts  with 
theine  of  tea.  The  per  cent,  of  this  substance  in  the  raw  coflee  berry  is 
about  one,  and  this  is  not  given  up  so  readily  to  water  as  that  in  tea. 

There  is  no  volatile  oil,  corresponding  to  that  of  tea,  in  raw  cofiiee  ;  but 
one  or  more  such  oils  are  generated  by  roasting.  The  physiological  action 
is  not  the  same,  however,  as  that  of  tea.  It  is  not  so  stimulating,  nor 
does  it  increase  the  perspiration  to  so  great  an  extent. 

Tannin  is  present  in  a  much  smaller  amount  than  in  tea,  and  for  this 
reason  the  steeping  of  coffee  may  be  carried  on  longer  than  ten  minutes. 

The  unground  coflee  cannot  be  adulterated  to  any  extent ;  but  the 
ground  coflee  put  in  packages  and  boxes  is  almost  universally  adulterated. 


62  HEALTHY  FOODS. 

Often  It  contains  no  cofiee  at  all.  A  student  of  the  writer  examined  all 
the  specimens  that  could  be  obtained  in  the  market.  The  first,  known 
as  Java  cotlee,  put  up  by  the  "•  Centennial  Coliee  Company,"  of  New 
York,  contained,  besides  some  coffee,  chickory,  jjease,  wheat,  acorns, 
and  corn.  The  second,  ''Gillies  Gold  Medal  Java,"  contained  very  little 
cotfee,  being  composed  principallv  of  wheat,  much  of  it  unground  chick- 
ory, corn,  and  pease.  The  remaining  samples  were  ground  coffee,  sold 
in  bulk,  and  in  every  case  adulterated. 

CHOCOLATE. 

Chocolate  is  prepared  from  the  gi-ound  seeds  of  the  fruit  of  the  cocoa 
palm.  Cocoa  nibs  consist  of  these  seeds,  which  are  about  the  size  ol 
almonds,  roughly  broken,  while  chocolate  contains  a  substance, — theo- 
bromine,— very  similar,  but  not  identical  with  theine  or  calfeine  ;  its  other 
constituents  give  it  a  very  different  position  in  the  class  of  foods.  The 
cocoa  seeds  contain  from  45  to  49  per  cent,  of  fat,  and  from  14  to  18  pcf 
cent,  of  nitrogenous  matter.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  these  seeds 
may  be  classed  among  the  most  nutritious  foods.  Chocolate  always  con- 
tains sugar,  which  has  been  mixed  with  the  ground  seeds. 

Chocolate  does  not  stimulate  the  nervous  system  to  anything  like  the 
extent  that  tea  and  coffee  do  ;  but  for  travellers  and  others  who  cannot 
obtain  milk,  chocolate  may  be  used  instead  of  that,  the  most  nutritious  of 
liquid  food. 

Chocolate  is  often  adulterated  by  the  addition  of  too  much  sugar,  or 
with  starch. 


The  Lomb  prize  Eggaij?. 


STYLES   AND    PRICES: 

The  four  essays,  in  one  volume  of  nearly  two  hundred 
large  octavo  pages,  thoroughly  indexed^  printed  upon 
extra  heavy  paper  made  especially  for  this  edition,  and 
bound  in  expensive  brown  cloth  with  gold  and  black 
finish,  making  an  elegant  and  handsome  volume.  $  .75 
The  same  on  lighter  paper,  well  bound  in  cloth     .     .  .50 

The  four  essays  (four  pamphlets) .25 

No.  I.   Healthy   Homes    and    Foods   for   the  Working 

Classes        .10 

Same  in  English-German  (alternate  pages  in  German)      ,15 
No.  2.   Sanitary    Needs    and     Necessities     of    School- 
Houses  and  School   Life .05 

No.  3.   Disinfection  and'  Individual   Prophylaxis  against 

Infectious  Diseases .05 

Same  in  English-German  (alternate  pages  in  German)      .10 
No.  4.  The  Preventable  Causes  of  Disease^  Injury,  and 
Death   in   American   Manufactories   and  Workshops, 
and  the  Best  Means  and  Appliances  for  Preventing 
and  Avoiding  Them .05 

These  exceedingly  valuable  essays,  written  by  authors  of  great  ability, 
and  selected,  as  the  best  out  of  many  received  in  competition,  by  com- 
mittees of  award  whose  names  alone  guarantee  the  high  character  of  the 
works,  are  being  placed  before  the  public  at  cost,  through  means  that 
are  being  furnished  the  American  Public  Health  Association  ;  and  it  is 
earnestly  desired  that  departments,  organizations,  societies,  manufacturers, 
and  individuals  assist  in  distributing  these  essays  as  extensively  as  pos- 
sible, for  the  good  of  all  classes  of  society,  especially  the  school  children 
and  the  laboring  classes. 

These  works  have  been  electrotyped  and  printed  in  large  quantities, 
so  that  they  can  be  furnished  in  any  number,  large  or  small,  at  the  bare 
cost  of  paper,  press-work,  and  binding. 

The  essays,  with  the  exception  of  the  75-cent  edition  and  the  English- 
German  editions,  in  pamphlet  form,  are  for  sale  at  the  agencies  of  the 
American  News  Company.  When  not  obtainable  at  such  agencies,  they 
may  be  had  by  forwarding  the  order  to  the  Secretary  of  the  American 
Public  Health  Association,  Concord,  N.  H. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


The  following  are  among  the  unsolicited  endorsements  already 
received  : 

S.  H.  DURGIN,  Health  Officer,  Boston,  Mass. : 

"The  volume  is  full  of  valuable  material  worth  double  its  price." 
Hon.  Erastus  Brooks,  West  New  Brighton,  N.  Y. : 

"The  prize  essay  volume  is  most  excellent  for  the  people  and  for  all  interested  in  the 
questions  discussed.     Compilation  and  publication  are  all  that  could  be  desired." 
Prof.  R.  D.  Kedzie,  M.  D.,  Lansing,  Mich. : 

"Am  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  the  volume,  and  promise  myself  much  pleasure  in 
its  perusal." 
S.  A.  Evans,  M.  D.,  Conway,  N.  H. : 

"  It  seems  to  me  very  desirable  that  these  essays  should  be  in  every  family.  Could  not 
the  substance  of  them  be  embodied  in  a  school  text-book  and  used  in  our  schools  ?  If  the 
young  could  be  educated  in  the  subject,  it  would  be  an  excellent  provision  for  the  future." 
D.  O.  Smith,  M.  D.,  Hudson  Centre,  N.  H.  : 

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T.  E.  Sanger,  M.  D.,  Littleton,  N.  H. : 

"Think  it  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  board  of  health  and  of  education." 
Nathan  Allen,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Lowell,  Mass. : 

"A  most  valuable  work,  especially  the  paper  on  American  Manufactories  and  Work- 
shops." 
Ed.  Wm.  Germer,  M.D.,  Pres.  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Erie,  Penn.  : 

"  It  is  an  excellent  book,  and  ought  to  be  translated  into  German  and  French  and  Swed- 
ish languages  to  reach  the  masses  of  the  people." 
Prof.  C.  A.  Linuslev,  M.  D.,  Sec'y  St.  Board  of  Health,  New  Haven,  Conn. : 

"You  have  given  us  a  capital  volume.     Some  benevolent  man  of  money  ought  to  steer 
one  into  the  family  of  every  householder  in  the  land." 
Ckoshy  Gray,  Esq.,  Health  Officer,  Pittsburgh,  I'enn. : 

"A  most  valuable  work." 
L.  W.  Hubbard,  M.  D.,  Lyndon,  Vt. : 

"  I  am  much  pleased  with  the  volume,  and  hope  to  induce  some  of  our  citizens  to  send 
for  it." 
W.  A.  Haskell,  M.  D.,  Alton,  111.: 

"The  work  is  in  every  respect  a  credit  to  the  Associ.ition." 

L.  PI.  Cohen,  M.  I).,  Quincy,  111. : 

"  Book  received  in  good  condition.     Exjiect  to  derive  much  pleasure  and  information 
from  its  careful  perusal." 
Geo.  M.  Cox,  M.  D.,  member  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Springfield,  Mo. : 

"I  am  highly  delighted  with  the  volume,  and  consider  it  a  dollar  well  spent." 
C.  W.  Chancellor,  M.  D.,  Sec'y  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Pialtimore,  Md. : 

"A  handsome  and  valuable  volume." 


B.  W.  Palmer,  M.  D.,  Detroit,  Mich. : 

I  shall  take  pleasure  in  commending  the  volume  to  my  medical  friends.     It  is  really 
unique  in  the  thoroughness  and  practical  suggestiveness  of  the  important  subjects  dis- 
cussed." 
Albert  L.  Gihon,  M.D.,  Medical  Director  U.  S.  N.,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

"  In  the  publication  of  the  Lomb  Prize  Essays  the  American  Public  Health  Associa- 
tion has  entered  upon  the  practical  stage  of  its  work  as  the  conservator  of  the  public 
health.  I  trust  the  admirable  series  of  monographs  thus  initiated  will  be  continued,  miUi 
sanitary  treatises  of  this  high  character  may,  through  their  cheapness,  excellence,  and 
attractiveness,  be  found  among  the  household  authorities  in  every  part  of  the  country.'' 
A.  E.  WiNCHELL,  M.  D.,  member  Board  of  Health,  New  Haven,  Conn. : 

"  Its  perusal  affords  great  pleasure.     It  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  physician  and 
sanitarian." 
W.  R.  Speare,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C. : 

"  I  am  much  pleased  with  it." 
F.  F.  Preston,  M.  D.,  New  Haven,  Vt. : 

"  It  is  a  volume  of  great  value,  and  ought  to  be  in  every  American  home." 
Charles  Ambrook,  M.  D.,  Boulder,  Col. : 

"  A  very  valuable  work,  and  cheap." 
T.  E.  Miller,  M.  D.,  Westport,  Ind. : 

"  The  more  I  read  your  book,  the  better  I  like  it." 
H.  C.  Crowder,  M.  D.,  member  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Williams,  Cal.  : 

"  I  am  very  much  pleased  with  the  Lomb  Prize  Essays,  and  would  earnestly  recommend 
that  a  copy  be  in  every  public  school  library  as  well  as  in  every  physician's.     I  congratu- 
late you  on  your  valuable  book." 
Albert  Merrell,  M.  D.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. : 

"The  essays  are  valuable  contributions  to  sanitary  science,  and  should  be  widely  circu- 
lated." 
A.  E.  Abrams,  M.  D.,  Collinsville,  Conn.: 

"  These  essays  will  go  veiy  far  toward  enlightening  all  classes  of  citizen^  on  the  very 
important  topics  of  which  they  treat." 
Chas.  F.  Wincate,  C.  E.,  New  York  city: 

"  An  admirable  summary  of  facts  clearly  expressed,  and  suitable  for  popular  enlighten- 
ment." 
Henry  Shimer,  M.  D.,  Mt.  Carroll,  111.: 

"  I  am  glad  that  I  concluded  to  send  for  the  work.     It  is  valuable  for  everybody." 
U.S.  Orme,  M.  D.,  Pres.  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  : 

"The  prize  essays  are  excellent,  and  just  what  I  wanted  for  reference." 
Kuitor  Building,  New  York  city: 

"  Shall  take  pleasure  in  reviewing  this  interesting  work,  and  possibly  make  extracts 
unless  you  object  to  our  doing  so." 
Walter  F.  Wells,  Esq.,  Winthrop,  Mass.: 

"  I  consider  it  a  valuable  book,  and  wish  it  was  in  every  household." 
C.ERRARi)  r,.  TvRRELL,  M.  D.,  SecV  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  Sacramento,  Cal. : 

"The  volume  is  admirable,  and  wonderfully  cheap." 


THE  AMERICAN  PUBLIC  HEALTH  ASSOCIATION, 

Organized  in  1872  by  a  few  eminent  sanitarians,  has  grown  in  fourteen 
years  to  be  the  strongest  and  ablest  association  of  its  kind  in  America, 
if  not  in  the  world,  and  contains  in  its  list  of  members,  physicians,  law- 
yers, clergymen,  teachers,  engineers,  architects,  and  representatives  of 
other  trades  ^nd  professions.  Its  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  legislative 
halls  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  in  every  state  and  territory,  for  the  amelio- 
ration of  sickness  and  suffering,  and  the  prolongation  of  human  life. 

The  eleven  large  and  elegant  volumes  it  has  published  are  in  them- 
selves a  monument  to  American  hygiene,  while  their  precepts  and 
teachings  have  been  felt  through  all  ranks  and  grades  of  society,  from 
the  workshop  to  the  mansion  of  the  millionaire.  No  library  is  complete 
in  its  literature  of  sanitation  without  these  works. 

Each  member  of  the  Association  receives  a  copy  of  the  annual  volume 
free  of  expense.  This  woi^k  alone  is  worth  more  to  any  individual  than 
the  cost  of  membership. 

Information  i^elating  to  the  Association,  as  well  as  blank  applications 
for  membership,  may  be  obtained  by  addi'essing  the  Secretary,  Dr. 
Irving  A.  Watson,  Concord,  N.  H. 


EXTRACT  FROM  CONSTITUTION.     Art.  III. 

The  members  of  this  Association  shall  be  known  as  Active  and  Associate.  The 
Executive  Committee  shall  determine  for  which  class  a  candidate  shall  be  proposed. 
The  Active  members  shall  constitute  the  permanent  body  of  the  Association,  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  as  to  continuance  in  membership.  They  shall  be 
selected  with  special  reference  to  their  acknowledged  interest  in  or  devotion  to  san- 
itary studies  and  allied  sciences,  and  to  the  practical  application  of  the  same.  The 
Associate  members  shall  be  elected  with  special  reference  to  their  general  interest  only  in 
sanitary  science,  and  shall  have  all  the  privileges  and  \publications  of  the  Association, 
but  shall  not  be  entitled  to  vote.     All  members  shall  be  elected  as  follows  : — 

Each  candidate  for  admission  shall  first  be  proposed  to  the  Executive  Committee  in 
writing  (which  may  be  done  at  any  time),  with  a  statement  of  the  business  or  profession, 
and  special  qualifications,  of  the  persons  so  proposed.  On  recommendation  of  a  majority 
of  the  committee,  and  on  receiving  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  members  present  at  a 
regular  meeting,  the  c.niuli^lnff  shall  be  declared  dulv  elected  a  member  of  the  Associa- 
tion.    The  annual  fee  ot  mcmbersiiip,  in  either  class,  shall  be  tive  dollars. 


^^^i^#^'^^i^)i^^:'^^":--  :i:t. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 


on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


Tel.  No.  642-25U 


NOV  2  8 1969 

HOV  2  5  196>^ 


t 


FEB  10  1972 


FEB    4  1972  ^ 


DiJip  end  cf  F;-,L;.  ^,. 
SUfi^'ect  to  recall  afte 


^ 


DEC     5  19'3 


FtB  2b  19T6 


MAR|5y^j976 


MAR  3  1  1980 


Subject  tarfVii!!^ 


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LD  21-40m-l,'68 
(H7452sl0)476 


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